GB2228673A - Invalid bath - Google Patents

Abstract

An invalid bath (36) has an enclosure (37), a seat (39), and an access door (40) the seat being bounded on each side by a recess (46) for accommodating a wheel of a wheelchair. The seat may be used by patients able to enter the bath without a wheelchair, or for wheelchair patients. A lavatory pan can be disposed below an aperture (43) having a sealable lid (44) in the seat. The pan may be integrally formed with the bath or may be a conventional pan separate therefrom. <IMAGE>

Description

BATH This invention relates to an invalid bath of the type which has an enclosure to which water can be supplied and a door to allow access by infirm patients. In such installations the patient can sit and bathe in a generally upright position. The door seals with a body of the bath to define a fillable enclosure.

A known bath of this type (see Fig.l) is manufactured from materials such as glass-reinforced plastics and comprises a three-sided body shell 11 having a back 12 and two sides 13. A front of the shell 11 has an opening 14 which can be closed by a door 15 having a sealing strip 16 which engages the front end of the body and, with suitable fastenings provides a watertight seal when the bath is in use. A conventional mixer tap (not shown) will normally be provided and there will be a drain with an appropriate plug, (again not illustrated). Within the shell 11 adjacent the backwall 12is a transverse seat 17 for supporting the patient.

This bath does have the disadvantage that it cannot be used by a patient in a wheelchair. There has to be some kind of awkward transfer of the patient between the wheelchair and the seat 17 which often needs perhaps two or more persons to do the lifting.

It would, of course, be theoretically possible to provide simply a large bath and support the patient within a water resistant wheelchair and wheel them into the bath. However, this has certain problems.

The volume of bath sufficient to accommodate a wheelchair would be quite large. This would mean that the time for the bath to fill and empty would be considerable. Conventional baths are recommended to be filled in under five minutes and preferably within four minutes. This can be quite important in relation to old or infirm patients, who if exposed, unclothed, to a damp atmosphere and without being immersed in water quickly, can suffer. Further, the use of a large volume of water to fill such a bath imposes an extra cost on the heating system supplying the water.

It is an objet of the present invention which will allow a wheelchair borne patient to enjoy a bath of this type without the aforesaid disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided an invalid bath including an enclosure and a door permitting access to the interior of the enclosure, wherein within the enclosure there is provided a body which upstands from a floor of the enclosure and provides a seat, there being defined between lateral faces of the body and lateral walls of the enclosure channels for accommodating wheels of a wheelchair.

Desirably, a front edge of a floor of the enclosure ends at a front entrace to the enclosure without any significant upstanding lip. The bath of the invention can be used in conjunction with a movable ramp which can be moved to end level with the floor of the enclosure to enable a wheelchair to be wheeled into the enclosure. Thereafter, the ramp can be moved, the door closed and the enclosure sealed before being filled with water. The body can be dimensioned to be a close fit beneath the seat of the wheelchair and between rear legs of the wheelchair.

The wheelchair is preferably used in combination with a specialised water-resistant generally skeletal wheelchair having a seat and depending framework supporting wheels, rear wheels of the wheelchair being spaced apart but unconnected to allow the wheelchair to be placed closely to surround the body.

The body can serve as a conventional seat for patients who'are able to enter the bath without a wheelchair, but can also be used for wheelchair patients. Further, the body can reduce the water capacity of the bath by 15 to 25 percent, thus speeding up the filling time and reducing the amount of water needed from the water supply.

The invention also provides a bath in the form of an enclosure having an access door and a seat within the enclosure enabling an occupant to bathe in a sitting position, characterised in that there is disposed beneath the seat and outside the enclosure a lavatory pan, a sealable aperture being provided in the seat above the pan.

The lavatory pan can be integrally formed with the bath or can be a conventional pan separate therefrom.

The bath can be provided with spaces laterally of the seat to accomodate wheelchair wheels as described above, or can have a conventional seat which extends from side to side of the enclosure without said wheelchair wheel spaces.

The bath can conveniently be moulded from glass reinforced plastics or comparable material. The seat can have a flat upper surface and can be sealed by a flat plate, a peripheral seal being provided on the underside of the plate to prevent leakage. In practice such a seal has proved satisfactory, especially in view of the fact that the weight of the person sitting on the seat and the hydrostatic pressure within the bath to prevent any leakage. If desired, however, the lid could be hinged and lockable in its closed position to be absolutely certain that it prevents leakage.

The seat on the lavatory can be so chosen and arranged that any water which does leak from the bath in use enters the pan and can be conduted away by the lavatory rather than spilling onto the floor.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 (has already been referred to) is a front schematic perspective view illustrating a known bath; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a bath of the invention but without its door and other fittings; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bath of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is a side view of the bath of Figs. 2 and 3 in use.

Fig. 5 is cross sectional schematic view illustrating a second preferred bath of the invention; and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the bath of Fig. 5.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be seen that a preferred bath 18 of the invention is comparable to a known bath in that it has a shell made from glass reinforced plastics material. The shell comprises a back wall 20, side walls 21 and a base 22.

As is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the front edges of walls 21 and the front edge of base 22 constitute a U-shaped sealing surface which can be engaged by a seal 23 carried by a door 24 which is hinged at 25 in conventional manner. An appropriate locking device (not shown) for the door is provided.

In contradistinction to the known bath illustrated in Fig. 1 the front surface of the base 22 does not have any upstanding lip and presents a smooth planar surface right to the front edge of said U-shaped sealing face. Within and to the lower rear of the shell 19 is an upstanding rectangular body 26 whose height is approximately that of the conventional seat 17. However, lateral spaces 27 are provided between the body 26 and the resepctive side walls 21.

These spaces 27 have respective floors which are continuous with the top surface of base 22 and are dimensioned to accept at least rear wheels 28 and their support 29 of a skeletal water resistant wheelchair 30. It will be appreciated, of course, that rear wheels 28 of the wheelchair are not connected and have separate supports 29. The wheelchair can have a backrest 31 and front wheels 32.

As will be best seen in Fig. 4, the body 26 is a snug fit within the space beneath the seat of the wheelchair 30. In fact, the bath and the wheelchair are built so as to be complementary, the wheelchair being specially modified to enter the bath body and be a very close sliding fit therein. The wheelchair is designed to give maximum support to the patient whilst giving minimum clearance between the various parts of the bath.

It will be appreciated that the sealing strip on the door has to be slightly longer than the conventional sealing strip because the sealing surface is a rather square U-shaped surface formed by the front edges of walls 21 and base 22. This is illustrated best in Fig. 4.

For access to the bath, it is necessary to use a removable ramp which is illustrated at 33. This can be placed in front of the bath 18, the patient then wheeled into the bath, the ramp removed and the door then closed.

It might be possible to have a door which fitted between the ends of the side walls 21 and above the floor 22, but the provision of the seal in such a situation would be costly and complicated. It is not a preferred construction. The removable ramp is a relatively cheap and simple solution to the problem of allowing access whilst having the front edge of the base 22 serving as a sealing surface.

The invention is not limited to the precise details of the foregoing and variations can be made within the scope of the invention.

For example, for use in combination with a wheelchair having larger wheels it is possible for the rear of the bath to be recessed as indicated in dotted lines to accommodate such larger wheels. This could allow the wheelchair to be used under normal conditions as an ordinary wheelchair and could also serve as a wheelchair for bathing. Of course, the wheelchair itself would have to be constructed to be able to withstand repeated immersion in water.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the body 26 as well as serving its purpose of saving water and reducing the filling time when a wheelchair patient is to be bathed, also serves as a seat for a person who can enter the bath alone or with help. Thus, the advantages of the invention are maintained in a bath which can be used in a perfectly conventional manner for patients who are not in wheelchairs.

The bath of the invention can be manufactured from other materials. For example, it can be blow moulded from plastics material or fabricated by welding sheets of ABS. Many other materials can be used.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a second preferred bath illustrating a second aspect of the invention.

In the figures a bath 36 is shown which is moulded from glass-reinforced plastics material to have a smooth interior. The bath 36 consists of an enclosure 37 having a floor 38, a raised seat 39 and a closable door 40 provided with seals 41.

Conventional fitments (not shown) are provided for introducing water into the enclosure and for draining it therefrom. The bath 36 differs from known baths in that beneath the seat 36 is disposed a lavatory pan 42. The pan can, if desired, be constructed to be integral with the body of the enclosure 37. It is envisaged, however, that it will normally be a separate item. Above the pan, the seat 39 has an aperture 43 which can be closed by a sealable lid 44.

As shown, the bath can be constructed to have an integral water cistern 45 although this is not essential.

The bath of the invention is particularly useful for use where space is at a premium. For example, in a domestic bathroom it can enable a sitting bath to be incorporated in the space occupied by a lavatory, and indeed, can be placed to register with an existing lavatory. In hospitals and other institutions a group of combined baths and lavatories can be provided in a relatively small space thus giving economic advantages.

As mentioned, the seat 39 can be the type of seat which is relevant to the first invention, i.e.

can have the lateral recesses 46 for wheelchair wheels. However, the invention is equally applicable to conventional baths which have a simple bench seat extending the full width as indicated by the dotted line 47.

The lid 44 is shown as being a simple flat plate. It has been found that a simple flat plate, provided it has , sealing surface around its periphery can form a very good seal with the glass-reinforced plastics of the seat 39. However, for added safety and peace of mind the lid 44 can be replaced by a hinged lid which can be locked or otherwise secured in its closed position.

Many other variations are possible within the scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. An invalid bath comprising an enclosure and a door permitting access to the interior of the enclosure, wherein within the enclosure there is provided a body which upstands from a floor of the enclosure and provides a seat, there being defined between lateral faces of the body and lateral walls of the enclosure channels for accommodating wheels of a wheelchair.

2. A bath as claimed in claim 1, wherein a front edge of a floor of the enclosure ends at a front entrance to the enclosure without any significant upstanding lip.

3. A bath as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the dimensioned to be a close fit beneath the seat of the wheelchair and between rear legs of the wheelchair.

4. A bath as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3 in combination with a water resistant generally skeletal wheelchair having a seat and depending framework supporting wheels, rear wheels of the wheelchair being spaced apart but unconnected to allow the wheelchair to be placed closely to surround the body.

5. A bath as claimed in all previous claims, wherein the body reduces the water capacity of the bath from 15 to 25%.

6. An invalid bath including an enclosure, and a door permiting access to the interior of the enclosure, wherein within the enclosure there is a seat which forms part of walling bounding the enclosure, a lavatory pan being disposed beneath the seat and a sealable lid being provided on the seat.

7. A bath as claimed in claim 6 wherein the pan is integral with the bath.

8. A bath as claimed in claim 6 wherein the pan is separate from the bath.

9. A bath as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein an integral water cistern is built into the bath.

10. An invalid bath as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9 wherein the lid is a loose item with a peripheral seal on its underside.

11. An invalid bath as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9 wherein the lid is lockable relative to the seat.

12. An invalid bath as claimed in any of claims 6 to 11, wherein the pan and aperture are constructed and/or arranged so that any water leaking from the bath via the aperture enters the pan.

13. A bath substantially as described with reference to Figs 1 to 4 or Figs 5 to 6 of the drawings.