TWI774639B - A bathing apparatus with recycling system - Google Patents

Abstract

A bathing apparatus includes a lower body comprising an engine components, an upper body mounted on said lower body includes a watertight enclosure adapted to accommodate a person therein, wherein said engine components in said lower body configured to manage the water in watertight enclosure of said upper body by receiving water therein from outside and pumping the water into said upper body.

Description

A bathing device with a recirculation system

The present invention relates to a bathing device that can assist people who cannot take a bath by themselves, especially a bathing device designed for the elderly and disabled people with limited mobility.

According to press, for people with limited mobility, such as the disabled and the elderly, especially those who need to use wheelchairs when bathing or showering, in order to solve their difficulties in bathing, the industry has specially introduced different bathing equipment. These include walk-in bathtubs, wheelchair-accessible showers, and walk-in showers. These devices usually have an entry-level opening in one side wall of the bathtub to allow wheelchairs to enter and exit the bathtub.

Although the aforementioned bathing devices allow the elderly and the disabled to easily access the bathtub, these devices are not commonly used in homes. The main reason is the high cost of installation, but also because of the large space required to install the bathtub door, chair lift and track. In addition, the device is not used by other members of the household except the disabled. Therefore, these bathing equipment is not suitable for the general bathroom of most households.

In view of this, the main object of the present invention is to provide a dismantling and portable bathtub that can be moved from one place to another without being permanently installed or positioned in a standard bathroom constrained by limited space, so as to Eliminate existing restrictions on bathing equipment used by persons with disabilities.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a jumpsuit with straps which is slidably connected to a transverse strut in the bathroom by means of a telescopic cable to elevate and support the disabled person's body so that it does not fall when entering and exiting the mobile bathtub on its own.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a platform that provides disabled persons a stepless passageway connected to the mobile bathtub.

Other objects of the present invention appear later in this specification.

One of the technical features of the present invention is to provide a bathing device which is specially used for the elderly and the disabled so that they can enter and exit the bathroom safely. The bathing device has a lower body and an upper body. The lower body has an engine part, the upper body system is mounted on the lower body, and has a waterproof enclosure to accommodate the user. Engine components located in the lower body receive water from the outside and pump the water into the upper body, thereby managing the water in the waterproof enclosure of the upper body.

A bathing device with the engine component includes at least one pump.

The bathing device with the upper body is a waterproof enclosure, the waterproof enclosure has four sides, and the front panel is opened to allow the user to enter and exit the bathing device.

The upper body includes a space for a user to sit or stand, and can accommodate a wheelchair for a disabled person.

The front panel of the bathing device has a drawbridge that extends into the upper body with a rough surface.

The front panel of the bathing device has a revolving door.

The front panel of the bathing device has a sealing rubber to fill the gap to prevent water from leaking to the outside.

By inserting the metal frame of the lower body of the bathing device into the hole of the upper body, the upper body can be fixed on the lower body.

The upper body of the bathing device has a retractable cable to release the wheelchair or pull the wheelchair into the bathing device.

The engine components located in the lower body of the bathing device are pumped into the upper body by a shower device or a simple pump.

Another technical feature of the present invention is to provide a bathing device in particular, which can be used to recirculate waste water to continuously flow in the bathroom without the risk of water shortage. The bathing device with the function of recycling waste water includes a lower body, a waste water tank, a clean water tank, and an upper body. The lower body has an engine part, the waste water tank collects waste water, and the clean water tank collects clean water. The upper body system is mounted on the lower body and includes a waterproof enclosure to accommodate the user. The waterproof enclosure obtains clean water from the clean water tank and discharges the waste water into the waste water tank. The engine part located in the lower body includes at least one electric pump to obtain waste water from the waste water tank and pump the pump into the clean water tank through at least one filter membrane.

The engine part located in the lower body of the bathing device is pumped into the upper body by means of a shower device or a simple pump.

The bathing device further includes another water tank for collecting clean water for emergency use.

Another technical feature of the present invention is to provide a bathing device, the bathing device is composed of a plurality of partitions, and a snap-on and lock system is provided at the ends of the partitions. The partitions are rectangular, and the front end is opened to allow the user to enter the bathing device, and the front end is closed by a front panel.

100: Bathing device

102: Lower body

104: Non-patterned bolts

106: Horizontal rod

108: Upper body

200: Bath fixtures

202: Lower body

204: Metal Shelf

206: Threadless Bolts

208: Upper body

210: Handle

212: Ferry

214: Front Panel

216: sealing rubber

300: Bathing Device

302: Front Panel

304: Front Panel

306: Improved Front Panel

308: Improved Front Panel

400: Recirculation System

402: Electric Pump

404: Wastewater

406: Clear water

500: Recirculation System

502: Electric Pump

504: Waste water tank

506: Clean water tank

508: Upper water tank

510: filter membrane

600: Bathing Device

602: Sliding door

700: Bath fixtures

702: Bathtub

704: Rails

800: Bath fixtures

802: Left partition

804: Right partition

806: Top partition

808: Rear bulkhead

810: Front Panel

902: Cable Traction System

904: Wheelchair

Other objects, technical features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding elements in the following views.

FIG. 1 is a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 3a to 3d are the front panels of the bathing device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a recirculation system of a bathing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an internal schematic diagram of a recirculation system of a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sliding door type bathing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 7a to 7c show a rotary bathing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 8a to 8b illustrate a method of manufacturing a snap-on and locked bathing device according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a retractable cable extending from the bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is used for retracting or releasing the wheelchair.

The embodiments of the present invention are described below by means of specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification.

FIG. 1 shows a bathing device (100) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is specially designed for the elderly and the disabled so that they can enter and exit the bathroom safely. The bathing device (100) includes a lower body (102), an upper body (108) fixed or placed on the lower body (102), and extending from the lower body (102) to assist in placing the upper body (108) of threadless bolts (104). The upper body (108) includes a plurality of holes to allow Threadless bolts (104) pass through to configure the upper body (108) on the lower body (102). The threadless bolts (104) are connected by a horizontal rod (106), allowing the user to grasp and move the bathing device (100).

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The bathing device (200) includes a lower body (202), an upper body (208) placed on the lower body (202), and a patternless bolt (208) for aligning the upper body (208) on the lower body (202). 206). A plurality of small wheels (212) are arranged on the bottom surface of the bathing device (200), so that the user can move the bathing device (200) from one place to another.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper body (208) is a waterproof enclosure with four sides, and the front panel (214) is opened to allow the user to enter and exit the bathing device (200).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper body (208) includes a seat device, allowing the user to sit down when using the bathing device (200).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bathing device (200) includes a sealing rubber (216) to fill the gap when the front panel (214) is opened or closed.

Figures 3a to 3d show the front panel design of a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3a shows the prior art for this front panel (302, 304).

Figure 3b shows a modified front panel (306) design of the bathing device. The front panel (306) is designed as a revolving door in the upper body to close and open the front panel (306) for entering and exiting the bathing device.

Figure 3c shows another modified front panel (308) design of the bathing device. The front panel (308) is designed as a drawbridge within the upper body to close and open the front panel (308) for access to and from the bathing device. The drawbridge-type door will be beneficial for users who have difficulty walking or who cannot lift their feet over 1 inch obstacles, so that they can walk on the drawbridge-type door, and the drawbridge-type door is also installed with some safety protection rails , to lead the user into the bathing device.

Figure 3d shows various views of the bathing device with the front panel closed.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a recirculation system of a bathing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an internal schematic diagram of a recirculation system of a bathing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The recirculation system (400) is installed in the lower body, obtains waste water (404) from the upper body, and discharges clean water (406) to recycle the waste water. The recirculation system (400) has an electric pump (402) that manages the water in the upper body by pumping clean fresh water into the upper body.

FIG. 5 shows an internal schematic diagram of a recirculation system of a bathing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The recirculation system (500) has a waste water tank (504) to collect the waste water from the upper water tank (508), and a clean water tank (506) to collect the clean water flowing through the electric pump (502) and the filter membrane (510) . As shown in Figure 5, the recirculation system further includes a component such as a shower connected to the fresh water tank (506).

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 5, the electric pump (502) is used to pump water into the shower head for bathing.

FIG. 6 shows a sliding door type bathing device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. The bathing device (600) includes a sliding door (602) in place of the front panel. The bathing device (600) further includes a control or key switch (not shown in the figure) to automatically close the door of the bathing device. The user will feel comfortable sitting inside the door of the bathing fixture because the bathing fixture can be easily closed. The sliding door (602) can be designed to close from the side or the bottom. In addition, there is a set of small wheels (not shown in the figure) at the bottom of the sliding door bathtub, which allows the user to push it anywhere. The other advantages of the sliding door type bathtub are: (1) The user can slide the sliding door all the way to the top, and only the user's head is exposed. Thus, the user can use the bathtub even in the living room or in the garden, fully seeing the rest of the family without exposing his own body. (2) The bathtub can allow 1 to 5 people to bathe together at the same time, because each person sits in his own compartment, but shares a door. (3) Use When using this bathing device, the sliding door can be half-closed or fully-closed (for the model where the sliding door slides up from the bottom).

Figures 7a to 7c show a rotary bathing device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures 7a-7b, the bathing device (700) includes a control or key switch (not shown) to rotate the bathtub (702) so that the user can move to its seat, while The first half of the bathtub rotates from a pivot point to a horizontal position within a single-sided open box structure. When the bathing device is adjusted to a safe position, the user can start a shower or fill and soak the bathtub with water, as shown in Figure 7c. As shown in Figure 7b, the two sides of the bathing device (700) further include a set of guide rails (704), the guide rails (704) are used as support for the user who is difficult to walk without a support.

Figures 8a to 8b show a method of manufacturing a snap-on-lock bathing device according to the present invention. The method uses a plurality of side dividers, such as left divider (802), right divider (804), top divider (806), and rear divider (808). The baffles come in different shapes and sizes, but are preferably rectangular. Each end of the partitions (802, 804, 806, 808) has a snap-to-lock means to connect adjacent partitions to create a bathing device. After completing the snap-on or locking action, the front panel forms an entrance to the bathing device. The front panel has a flap system to close the bathing device after the user enters the bathing device. The complete bathing device is a rectangular structure, and when the user is bathing, the rectangular structure and the front panel (810) are responsible for accommodating water. The water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe are connected with the bathing device (not shown in the figure) to obtain fresh water and discharge waste water. A sealing gasket is provided at the connecting end of the front door of the bathing device to prevent water from leaking out of the bathing device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the front panel can be closed by a fitting that pulls a cord or cable. This accessory is a mechanical or manual rope reel, but can also be electrically operated. The user can use this accessory to close or open the front panel.

Figure 9 shows a retractable cable (902) extending from the bathing device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention for retracting or releasing the wheelchair (904). The wheelchair (904), along with the user sitting on it, is automatically pulled into the bathing device via a set of cable traction systems (902) or any other mechanical system, without the user's own strength to push the wheelchair (904).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bathing device further includes water tanks installed on both sides. Therefore, since the water is automatically recirculated all the time, the user can use the shower device to take a bath all the time.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bathing device includes a seat that folds down so that a person who needs to enter the bathing device with a wheelchair has enough space to enter the bathing device together with the wheelchair.

Furthermore, the present invention can be more efficient. If the patient cannot enter the bathroom, the bathing device can be pushed to the bedside because the bathing device is mobile, and the patient can enter the bathing device under the guidance of the nursing staff. Since very little water is required for long baths, the bathing unit is very beneficial for those who cannot afford too much water bills or live in areas with water shortages.

The present invention can also be used in children. Because many children like to play with water while bathing, but because parents don't want to waste too much water, they won't allow their children to bathe for too long.

The present invention can also be used for people who live in or need to work in the jungle, where the water source is far from the work camp area.

The above-mentioned embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make modifications to the above-described embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the right protection of the present invention should be listed in the scope of the patent application described later.

200: Bath fixtures

202: Lower body

204: Metal Shelf

206: Threadless Bolts

208: Upper body

210: Handle

212: Ferry

214: Front Panel

216: sealing rubber

Claims (16)

A bathing device, comprising: a lower body with an engine part; and an upper body mounted on the lower body, the upper body including a waterproof enclosure to accommodate a user, wherein the lower body is located in the lower body The engine part receives water from the outside and pumps water into the upper body, thereby managing the water in the waterproof enclosure of the upper body, wherein the waterproof enclosure has four sides and the front panel is opened for use To enter and exit the bathing device, the front panel has a suspension bridge to extend into the upper body. A bathing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engine component includes at least one electric pump. According to the bathing device of claim 1, the upper body includes a space for the user to sit or stand, and can accommodate a wheelchair of a disabled person. The bathing device according to claim 1, wherein the upper body has a rough surface. According to the bathing device of claim 1, the bathing device can be a rotary bathing device. The bathing device of claim 5, which can be rotated to the first position and the second position. The bathing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first position allows a user to enter the bathing apparatus. The bathing device of claim 6, wherein the second position allows a user to shower or fill the bathtub with water. The bathing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a set of guide rails, the set of guide rails can provide support when a user enters the bathing apparatus. The bathing device according to claim 1, wherein the front panel has a sealing rubber to fill the gap and prevent water from leaking to the outside. The bathing device of claim 1, wherein the upper body can be fixed on the lower body by inserting the metal frame of the lower body into the hole of the upper body. The bathing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper body includes a retractable cable to release the wheelchair or pull the wheelchair into the bathing apparatus. The bathing device of claim 1, wherein the engine components in the lower body are pumped into the upper body by a shower device or a simple pump. A recirculating water bathing device, comprising: a lower body with an engine part; a waste water tank for collecting waste water; a clean water tank for collecting clean water; and an upper body mounted on the lower body, the upper body The body includes a waterproof enclosure to accommodate the user, the waterproof enclosure obtains clean water from the clean water tank, and discharges the waste water into the waste water tank; wherein, the engine components in the lower body are Including at least one electric pump to obtain waste water from the waste water tank and pump the water into the clean water tank through at least one filter membrane, wherein the waterproof enclosure has four sides, and the front panel is opened to allow users to enter and exit the bath device, the front panel has a suspension bridge to extend into the upper body. The bathing device of claim 14, wherein the engine components in the lower body are pumped into the upper body by a shower device or a simple pump. The bathing device according to claim 14, further comprising another water tank for collecting clean water for emergency use.

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