Reversible Shower Seat
The invention is directed to a reversible seat for use in a shower. The seat having an integral handle for moving the seat from a closed position to an open position and a means for retaining the seat in a closed position in either a standard orientation or reversed orientation.
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Present invention relates generally to seats used in showers by bathing persons, specifically persons not able to stand in the shower. The seat may be mounted in a shower stall where the use of the seat is optional. The seat may be moved a storage position when not in use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONShower seats are designed for use and facilities to help persons who may have difficulties standing while bathing. Specifically, shower seats are described and specified by the Americans with disabilities act (ADA §610.3). The Americans with Disabilities Act specifies dimensions and capacities for shower seats meeting the requirements of the Act having both a rectangular shape and “L” shape.
Folding shower seats described in the prior art use braces extending upward or downward from the seat or to support the seat in a sitting position. One form of shower seat has an extendable leg for supporting the seat on the shower stall floor. Shower seats having support mechanisms such as braces or legs may be likely to injure the user coming in contact with the support. Furthermore, these supports may pose a hazard in a closed or stored position. Prior art shower seats may be formed of metal, plastic or wood.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a reversible shower seat that meets the ADA specifications and may be retained in a recessed position when not in use. The reversible shower seat adapted to accommodate left-hand or right hand use and to have an integral handle for opening or closing the shower seat. There is a need to provide a shower seat without external supports having sufficient load-bearing capacity.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne embodiment of the present invention is directed to a reversible shower seat for use in a shower having a storage enclosure mounted in the wall. The storage enclosure mounted and supported in the wall having support members extending horizontally between wall supports. The support enclosure having a hinge receiver adjacent to a seat stop. The seat stop formed in a back wall of the support enclosure. The back wall surrounded by two sidewalls spaced from each other and each may be connected to a top wall and bottom wall. The top wall and bottom wall may be spaced from each other, generally parallel and extending between the two sidewalls to form an open-ended box for receiving the shower seat. Each of the sidewalls having means for holding the seat in the closed position which may be configured as a retainer receiving lock located at a predetermined height from the bottom wall adapted to releasably engage the reversible seat to hold it in the closed position. The lock may be a hole or recess in the sidewall to receive the retainer protruding from the side of the seat. Alternatively, the lock may protrude from the sidewall and releasably engage the retainer which may be a hole or indentation disposed in the side of the seat.
The reversible shower seat may have an “L” shaped sitting portion, a hinge on a long end of the “L” shaped seat and a retainer on each of two sides. The hinge adapted to engage the hinge receiver on the support enclosure. The “L” shaped seat may further have a back edge adjacent the hinge and a first and second front edge defining the “L” shape. The first side having a long sidewall adjacent the first front edge, the second side having a short sidewall adjacent the second front edge, Each retainer spaced a predetermined distance from the hinge. Each retainer adapted to releasably engage the lock on the sidewalls of the enclosure.
The “L” shaped seat may further comprise a short seat portion and a long seat portion. The long seat portion adjacent the first sidewall, the short seat portion adjacent the second sidewall. The short seat portion connected to the long seat portion to form the “L” shaped seat. The long seat portion extending to the first front edge. The seat portion may extend to the second front edge. A handle on the long seat portion extending between the first outer edge and the second outer edge. A handle formed on the reversible “L” shaped seat for use in moving the “L” shaped seat between an open and closed position.
The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
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Due to the intensive-use nature of the reversible shower seat 10 the enclosure 12 may be formed of a durable plastic or metal having a corrosion resistant finish. Seat 24 may likewise be formed of sheet metal or plastic selected to support the required weight and resist corrosion.
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given. Further, the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that other forms, details, and embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. A reversible shower seat for use in a shower stall comprising:
- an enclosure having a back wall, a first sidewall, and a second sidewall, the first and second sidewalls on the back wall and spaced from each other, a hinge receiver formed in each of the two sidewalls;
- a seat comprising a top, a bottom, a hinge, a back edge, a first front edge, a second front edge and a first sitting portion, the first sitting portion on the top, the hinge on the seat adjacent the back edge, the hinge movably connected to the hinge receiver, the hinge between the back edge and the first front edge; and
- a handle on the seat, the handle between the first front edge and the second front edge.
2. The invention of claim 1, wherein the seat further comprises a first retainer, a first side and a second side, the first retainer on the first side, the enclosure further comprising a first lock on the first sidewall, and a second lock on the second sidewall, one of the first lock or second lock adapted to matingly and releasably receive the first retainer when the seat is in a closed position.
3. The invention of claim 1, wherein the handle further comprises a top finger grip on the top.
4. The invention of claim 3, wherein the seat further comprises a second sitting portion on the bottom, the handle further comprising a bottom finger grip on the bottom.
5. The invention of claim 2, wherein the enclosure further comprises a second retainer on the second side, the second retainer disposed to matingly receive one of the first or second locks in the sidewalls of the enclosure.
6. The invention of claim 1, further comprising a first lock on the first sidewall and a first retainer and second retainer on the seat, the first retainer on a first side of the seat, the second retainer on a second side of the seat, the first lock adapted to matingly and removably receive one of the first retainer or second retainer when the seat is in a closed position.
7. The invention of claim 2, further comprising a second retainer on the second side spaced a first distance from the hinge, the other of the first lock or second lock adapted to matingly and releasably receive the second retainer.
8. The invention of claim 2 wherein the bottom further comprises a second sitting portion between the first side and the second side, whereby the seat is reversible.
9. The invention of claim 8, wherein, the seat further comprises a second retainer on the second side, the second retainer disposed to matingly receive one of the first or second locks in the sidewalls of the enclosure, each of the first and second locks disposed a predetermined distance from the hinge, the second retainer spaced the first distance from the hinge.
10. The invention of claim 9, wherein the handle further comprising a top finger grip on seat top and a bottom finger grip on the bottom.
11. A reversible shower seat for use in a shower stall, the shower seat having a reversible “L” shaped seat pivotally mounted in an enclosure comprising an open box enclosure having a top wall, a bottom wall, a back wall, an open front and two sidewalls, the top wall on the back wall, the bottom wall on the back wall and spaced from the top wall, the two sidewalls on the back wall, spaced from each other, the top wall, bottom wall, and two sidewalls defining a seat opening adjacent the back wall, the reversible “L” shaped seat comprising a top, a bottom, a first side, a second side, a first front edge, a second front edge and a back edge, the first and second side on the back edge, the first front edge on the first side, the second front edge on the second side, the first front edge spaced from and generally parallel to the second front edge, the top on the back edge and the first and second front edges, the bottom on the back edge spaced from the top, the bottom further on the first and second front edges spaced from the top the reversible shower seat comprising:
- a means for holding the seat in a closed position on the enclosure;
- a means for holding the seat in an open position having the top oriented in a generally horizontal position, the means for holding the seat in the open position on the enclosure;
- a hinge on the reversible “L” shaped seat adjacent the back edge, the hinge pivotally connected to the enclosure; and
- a handle on the reversible “L” shaped seat intermediate first side and the second side, the handle on the first front edge and extending to the second front edge.
12. The invention of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of supports in the seat intermediate the top and bottom.
13. The invention of claim 11, wherein the means for holding the seat in the closed position further comprises a plurality of locks in the enclosure, a retainer on one of the first side or second side of the seat, the retainer disposed to releasably engage one of the plurality of locks to hold the seat in the closed position
14. The invention of claim 13, wherein the means for holding the seat in the closed position further comprises a plurality of retainers in the seat, at least one of the plurality of retainers adapted to engage at least one of the plurality of the locks in the closed position wherein the seat is held in a generally vertical orientation.
15. The invention of claim 11, wherein the means for holding the seat in the closed position is reversible.
16. The invention of claimed 12, wherein one of the top or the bottom is formed of metal, the supports having a top member welded to one of the top or bottom.
17. The invention of claim 11, wherein the means for holding the seat in the closed position further comprises a first retainer on the first side extending away from the seat, a second retainer on the second side, a lock on each sidewall, the first and second retainer positioned a first distance from the hinge, each lock positioned a second distance from the hinge receiver, the first and second distances being predetermined to matingly engage a one of the first and second retainers in a respective lock when the reversible “L” shaped seat is pivotally moved about the hinge from the generally horizontal, open position, to the generally vertical, closed position having the top or the bottom of the seat adjacent the back wall.
18. The invention of claim 11, wherein the handle further comprises a top finger grip on the top and a bottom finger grip on the bottom.
19. The invention of claim 11 wherein the means for holding the seat in the closed position further comprises a lock on the enclosure, the lock on one of the two sidewalls, the lock adapted to releasably engage the seat in the closed position.
20. A shower seat for use in a shower stall comprising:
- a flanged enclosure having a back wall surrounded by a top wall, a pair of sidewalls and a bottom wall, the back wall on the top wall and bottom wall, the top wall and the bottom wall spaced from each other, the sidewalls each extending from the top wall to the bottom wall the sidewalls spaced from each other, a plurality of seat locks on the enclosure;
- a reversible “L” shaped seat having a back edge, a first side, a second side, a first front edge, a second front edge, a top and a bottom, the first side on the back edge and the first front edge, the second side on the back edge in spaced relation and generally parallel to the first side, the second side also on the second front edge, the top on the first side and second side, the bottom on the first side and the second side, the top held in spaced relation to the bottom, a retainer on each of the first and second side;
- a hinge on the seat, the hinge pivotally attached to the enclosure, a retainer on the seat, the retainer adapted to engage a respective one of the plurality of locks on the enclosure, whereby the retainer releasably holds the seat in the closed position; and
- a handle intermediate the first side and the second side, the handle on the first front edge and extending to the second front edge.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2010
Publication Date: Apr 19, 2012
Applicant: The Norix Group (West Chicago, IL)
Inventor: Jerome C. Parker (Naperville, IL)
Application Number: 12/906,518