GB2348128A

GB2348128A - A height adjustable chair assembly with a sling-type seat

Info

Publication number: GB2348128A
Application number: GB9906982A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Raymond Metcalf
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-03-25
Filing date: 1999-03-25
Publication date: 2000-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2019-03-25
Also published as: ATE509607T1; GB9906982D0; GB2348128B; WO2000057831A1; AU3444600A; EP1165006A1; EP1165006B1

Abstract

A height adjustable chair assembly for use in a bath (1) comprises a pair of tubular stands (2) and a sling-type seat (3) suspended between the stands. The inverted, u-shaped stands (2) extend downwardly through apertures in the sides of can be raised and lowered by means of an actuator positioned beneath the bath. At their lower ends each stand is connected by a joining member (10). These joining members (10) can be raised or lowered by respective bell-crank levers (11) and spreaders (15) which are coupled to a linear actuator.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO BATHS The invention relates to baths.

Regular immersion in warm water is beneficial for people of all ages but particularly for the elderly and infirm. However getting into and out of a seated position in a bath is particularly difficult for the elderly and for those who for any reason are of below average strength and agility. For such persons raising oneself up from a position in which the buttocks and feet are on the same level may well be difficult from any surface but within the narrow confines of a household bath is likely to be well nigh impossible. This problem has been appreciated for some time and many proposals have been made to avoid it. Thus seats have been provided which can be hydraulically raised and lowered on a column and can be swung between a position outside the bath and a position within the bath. By means of such seats an attendant can seat a person at a position externally of the bath, raise the person, swing them over the bath and lower them into the bath so that the seat stops close to the bottom of the bath and the person can bathe.

Other constructions have provided a powered expanding actuator beneath a seat in a bath, the user stepping into the bath, sitting on the seat, being lowered into the water and after bathing being raised again.

Apart from the expense of such constructions however, there is the disadvantage that the seat has to be of significant depth and the depth of the seat reduces the extent of immersion of the person in the water such that only a small part of the person can be immersed or a very large quantity of water is required.

Baths have been proposed with a step in the bottom surface on which step a person can be seated with the feet lower than the buttocks and with a door in a side wall of the bath which is openable inwardly or outwardly to allow the person access to the bath. Large quantities of water are required however for an acceptable level of immersion, there is a significant risk of water leakage and the person using the bath must be in the bath during prolonged filling and emptying.

Other proposals for lowering a person into a bath include a roller arrangement provided on one side of the bath with a strip of flexible material wound round the roller and having its free end attached to the other side of the bath or the floor at the side of the bath. A user steps into the bath, seats himself on the strip of material and then energises the roller to allow himself to be lowered into the bath until the strip of material rests on the bottom of the bath. This solves the thickness of the base of the seat problem but is inconvenient to use since as the strip of material unwinds, the person must shift sidewardly towards the roller so as always to be centred in the width of the bath. On reversing the direction of rotation of the roller to effect a powered rewind to raise the person from the bath, the person must again shift sidewardly on the strip of the material, in this case towards the fixed end, as the strip is wound in.

Inflatable cushions have been proposed which can be deflated after a person is seated thereon to lower the person into the bath and then re-inflated to raise them out again. Positioning of the person is however crucial with serious tilting problems if not exact.

Other raising and lowering arrangements within baths have been provided but all have one or other of the two disadvantages outlined above.

According to the invention, a bath has a raisable stand at each of opposite sides thereof and a seat in the form of a sling suspended from and between the two stands, means being provided to raise and lower the stands simultaneously so that the seat is raised and lowered with respect to the bath.

Advantageously each of the stands is of tubular construction and of inverted U-shape, that is to say has two vertical uprights joined by an integral generally horizontal upper member with the two uprights advantageously extending through a horizontal flange provided at the upper edge of the bath and being mounted in bearings in a cradle frame provided beneath the bath.

The cradle frame advantageously comprises a vertically extending framework at each side of the bath and horizontal members joining the two vertical frameworks at their lower edges and extending beneath the bath.

The means for raising and lowering the stands may comprise an actuator preferably provided centrally of the width of the bath to move a spreader longitudinally of the bath and beneath the bath, a respective bell-crank lever at each side of the bath coupled to opposite sides of the spreader, pivoted on a respective one of the vertical frameworks and coupled at its other end to a bottom end of a respective one of the vertical stands to raise and lower the stands. Advantageously the actuator is of the motor driven screw type.

In addition to raising and lowering a respective side of the seat, the upper end of each stand can provide a useful steadying handhold at an elevated position to assist a person using the bath to step into and out of the bath.

Advantageously the seat is readily engageable and disengageable from the upper ends of the stands to facilitate cleaning of the seat and also to permit removal of the seat so that the bath can be readily used by persons who do not require assistance to lower them into the bath. The seat can be of lightweight construction and easily lifted.

Preferably the seat in the form of a sling is formed of moulded plastics material with a seat portion and side members extending upwardly therefrom, the upper end of each side member being formed as an inverted cup to engage over the upper end of the respective stand.

Advantageously the inverted cup has opposite end walls and an aperture is provided in one of the end walls to receive a projection from the integral generally horizontal upper member of the respective stand to locate the side member of the seat with respect to the stand.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bath according to the invention viewed from one side, one end and above with a seat in a raised position; Figure 2 is a side elevation of actuating means for a bath according to the invention with seat supporting stands in a lowered position; Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 but with seat supporting stands in a raised position; Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 but with a side panel of the bath removed to show details of an actuator and with the seat removed; and Figures 5a and 5b show views from opposite ends of engagement of the seat with upper ends of the seat supporting stands.

Referring to the drawings, a bath 1 is of generally standard construction but has at each of opposite sides thereof a stand 2 which is raisable and lowerable, the two stands 2 supporting between them a seat 3 which can be raised and lowered by raising and lowering the stands 2. Each of the stands 2 comprises a pair of spaced tubular members 4,5, the member 5 being bent over at its upper end to form a horizontal portion 5a which is secured to the upper end of the tubular member 4 with a projecting end portion 5b. The tubular members 4,5 extend downwardly through apertures in a generally horizontal flange 6 at the upper edge of the bath 1 into a space beneath the bath 1.

Beneath the bath 1, a cradle frame 7 is provided comprising a pair of vertical frameworks 8 joined by transverse members 9 at floor level. At the upper ends of each of the frameworks 8, bearings (not shown) are provided in which the tubular members 4,5 are slidably mounted. At their lower ends the tubular members 4,5, at each side of the bath, are connecte together by a respective joining member 10 provided below the bearings such that raising the joining member 10 will raise the respective stand 2 from the position of Figure 2 to the position of Figure 3. The joining members 10 can be raised by respective bell-crank levers 11, as shown formed by triangular plates having a pivot connection 12 to the respective joining member 10, a pivot connection 13 to the respective side member 8 of the cradle frame 7 and a pivot connection 14 to a spreader 15 coupled to a linear actuator 16 which preferably comprises a rotary screw and nut arrangement driven by an electric motor powered by a 24 volt battery. A control arrangement to stop and start the motor either in a forward or in a reverse direction is advantageously provided at a position such that it can be operated by a person in the bath, advantageously at the end of a flexible lead.

Thus by energising the linear actuator 16, the spreader 15 can be moved rightwardly, as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, to cause the bell-crank levers 11 to rotate anti-clockwise about the pivots 13 and raise the pivots 12 and thus the joining members 10 from the position of Figure 2 to the position of Figure 3 thereby raising the stands 2 provided at the opposite sides of the bath from the position of Figure 2 to the position shown in Figures 1,3 and 4.

The seat 3 is preferably formed of a stiff moulded plastics material and comprises a base portion 17 and upstanding side portions 18. The base portion 17 and the side portions 18 are formed of sheet material, for example of 10 mm or less thickness. At the upper end of each side member 18, the sheet material is turned over and downwardly to form an inverted cuplike top piece 19 with end walls 20 at the upper end of the side member 18. The cuplike top piece 19 can engage over the upper end of the respective stand 2 and, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 5b, one of the end walls 20 has an aperture 21 therein through which the respective end member 5b of the stand 2 projects so as positively to locate the side member 18 with respect to the stand 2. The seat (3) can thus simply be clipped onto the stands 2 and unclipped therefrom.

Compared with previous proposals a bath as shown and described can be very simple and inexpensive to make and convenient to use.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A bath having a raisable stand at each of opposite sides thereof and a seat in the form of a sling suspended from and between the two stands, means being provided to raise and lower the stands simultaneously so that the seat is raised and lowered with respect to the bath.
2. A bath according to claim 1, in which each of the stands is of tubular construction and of inverted U-shape with two vertical uprights joined by an integral generally horizontal upper member.
3. A bath according to claim 2, in which the two uprights extend through a horizontal flange provided at the upper edge of the bath and are mounted in bearings in a cradle frame provided beneath the bath.
4. A bath according to claim 3, in which the cradle frame comprises a vertically extending framework at each side of the bath and horizontal members joining the two vertical frameworks at their lower edges and extending beneath the bath.
5. A bath according to claim 4, in which the means for raising and lowering the stands comprises an actuator provided centrally of the width of the bath to move a spreader longitudinally of the bath and beneath the bath, a respective bell-crank lever at each side of the bath coupled to opposite sides of the spreader, pivoted on a respective one of the vertical frameworks and coupled at its other end to a bottom end of a respective one of the vertical stands to raise and lower the stands.
6. A bath according to claim 5, in which the actuator is of the motor driven screw type.
7. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the upper end of each stand is positioned so that it can provide a steadying handhold at an elevated position to assist a person using the bath to step into and out of the bath.
8. A bath according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the seat is readily engageable and disengageable from the upper ends of the stands to facilitate cleaning of the seat and also to permit removal of the seat so that the bath can be readily used by persons who do not require assistance to lower them into the bath.
9. A bath according to claim 8, in which the seat in the form of a sling is formed of moulded plastics material with a seat portion and side members extending upwardly therefrom, the upper end of each side member being formed as an inverted cup to engage over the upper end of the respective stand.
10. A bath according to claim 9 when appendant to claim 2, in which the inverted cup has opposite end walls and an aperture is provided in one of the end walls to receive a projection from the integral generally horizontal upper member of the respective stand to locate the side member of the seat with respect to the stand.
11. A bath substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.