BATH SYSTEM
According to the invention, a bathing environment, such as a shower or a tub, has an entry way that does not encumber entry or exit from a bathing environment. The bathing environment has a drain in the entry way so that the entry way remains substantially level so that a user encounters no threshold if entering or exiting said bathing environment. The drain has a channel in the entry way for collecting water that flows to it, and a cover over the channel. The environment has a floor that slopes gently to the channel so that water is directed to the channel for removal therefrom.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/189,054 filed Aug. 15, 2008. Cross reference is made to copending U.S. patent applications Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3125-U; 60137-581 PUS1); Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3127-U; 60137-581 PUS3); Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3128-U; 60137-581 PUS4); Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3129-U; 60137-581 PUS5); Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3130-U; 60137-581 PUS6); Ser. No. ______ entitled “Bath System” (Attorney Docket No. 136-3131-U; 60137-581 PUS7).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBath showers and tubs have many features. Some baths and showers include seats and benches. Some seats are fixed to the interior of tubs and showers. Other seats are arranged on slides to allow a user to, in essence, ride the seat from the exterior of a tub to the interior of the tub and back.
Showers typically have a threshold over which a user must step to enter into a shower. The threshold typically serves to keep water from escaping from the shower.
Some bath and shower fixtures attach grab bars thereto to provide hand holds for users.
Both shower and shower/bath fixtures use doors, typically glass, and curtains, typically plastic, to keep water from escaping from the shower enclosure during use.
Some bath and shower units provide shelves for storage of bath materials such as soap, shampoo, toys and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the invention, a bathing environment, such as a shower or a tub, has an entry way that is designed to present no encumbrances to entry or exit from a bathing environment. The bathing environment has a drain in the entry way so that the entry way remains substantially level so that a user encounters no threshold if entering or exiting said bathing environment.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the drain has a channel in the entry way for collecting water that flows to it, and a cover over the channel.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the environment has a floor that slopes gently to the channel so that water is directed to the channel for removal therefrom.
These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
Referring now to
At the back wall 30 of the shower 20, there is a vertically placed grab bar 25a and a cathedral shaped grab bar 25b. Similarly, grab bars 35 are placed on end wall 40 to provide hand holds for a user. The cathedral shaped grab bar 25b is placed in a recess 70 in the back wall 30, the cathedral-shaped grab bar having a bottom portion 75, two upwardly extending leg portions 80, and an arcuate section 85 connecting the tops of the two leg portions is placed therein. The grab bars are attached to end and side walls 30, 40 by means known in the art by mounts 102 (see
As may be seen in
Referring now to
By integrating the shower head with the grab bars, a user may understand that he can hold the shower head support if desired while manipulating the shower head because the shower head support is the grab bar.
Referring now to
Referring to
The stabilizing bracket 140 is attached to the upper back 165 of the seat back 135 (see
The seat back is attached to the legs 150 by means of support arms 160 which attach to the seat back below the stabilizing bracket 140 by conventional means and attach to a mid portion 175 of legs 150 also by conventional means. The seat has a pair of downwardly depending flanges 180 which conventionally attach to the legs 150 while allowing the seat to pivot thereabout. The legs 150 conventionally attach at their lower end to the weight distribution support 155 that serves to distribute the weight of a user across a greater area of the shower floor 45 to minimize the ends of the legs from damaging the floor 45.
The chair 125 is made of water resistant material like plastic, wood or metal. As shown in
To use the chair, one places the bracket 140 over a grab bar 25 while depressing the spring 143 to allow the grab bar 35 to nestle within the arcuate portion 170, locates the weight distribution support 155 and flips down the seat 130. When not in use, a user simply flips up the seat 130 and leaves the chair in place. If more space is necessary, or the chair needs cleaning, a user simply flips up the seat and, because of the dimensions of the arcuate portion 170, simply depresses the spring 143 and lifts the chair and the bracket 140 up over the bar for removal. The spring minimizes the probability that the chair will be pushed off the bracket when it is not intended to remove the chair. If the chair is lifted or pushed upwardly, the spring catches the grab bar 35 and prevents removal of the chair from the grab bar. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other types of devices such as clamps, flexible over-center grips and the like may be used to prevent the removal of the chair if not desired by a user.
Referring now to
However, the seat back also has: a pair of legs 150 whereby the seat back and legs are integrally formed; pair of horizontally disposed flanges 185 extending therefrom; and a plurality of horizontal slots 190 that increase in width from the top of the seat back to the bottom thereof both to allow water to drain and to present an appealing design. The legs 150 are wider at the bottom to distribute the weight of a user across a greater area of the shower floor 45 to minimize damage thereto. The seat 130 is conventionally attached to the flanges 185 to allow the seat to pivot upwardly. The stabilizing bracket 140 acts like the seat bracket as shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
The bench seat may either sit on the longitudinal portion 220 of the knee wall and the pedestal 215 and thereby be easily removed from the shower surround 195 if desired, or may be fixedly hinged as shown in
The bench seat 205 is generally flush with a pedestal 215 when flipped down (
Referring to
According to an embodiment of this invention, the door 245 need only extend down to a top 298 of the pedestal thereby reducing the weight and cost of the door. In this embodiment, the pedestal and the shorter door cooperate to minimize water escaping from the shower surround.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The arm rests 365 are contoured to mimic a comfortable position for a user's arms and, therefore, one will recognize that one of ordinary skill in the art may choose other shapes and contours as long as the arm rests conform with the seat to provide a surface that is comfortably flush with the front wall 370. The side arms 405 of the seat 400 extend past the sides of a pillow 360 when the seat is pivoted down so that the pillow 390 can be placed in an ideal position behind the seat (see
The seat 400 may be spaced from the front wall 370 by a dimension that allows a shower curtain room to pass between the front wall and the seat to minimize an amount of water from escaping from the tub surround 350 (see
Referring to
The drain 440 is disposed within a cavity 450 in the front wall 430 (or other wall) of the bath and shower surround and has enough volume to store goods such as soap, shampoo, bath toys and other items deemed necessary or preferable for the bathing experience. The bottom walls 455 of the cavity are sloped towards the drain 440 to allow for complete drainage in the event of an overflow condition. The cavity 440 may have a pivotable cover 460 that closes for esthetics and to give easy access to the tub and shower surround 425. The cover should be flush with the top of the front wall so as not to provide an impediment to entering or exiting the tub. It should be understood that the cavity 450 may incorporate various other devices such as shower controls, separate handheld showers 455 that may be plumbed into the cavity as is known in the art, soap dispensers, as well as other devices (not shown).
The adjacent scuppers form a plurality of corbels 465 that are designed to support the cover if it is closed. The cover 465 may be relatively rigid to operate as a transfer seat or other support.
It should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings. It should also be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed in the illustrated embodiment, other arrangements will benefit herefrom.
The foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by the limitations within. Various non-limiting embodiments are disclosed herein, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that various modifications and variations in light of the above teachings will fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described. For that reason the appended claims should be studied to determine true scope and content.
Claims
1. A bathing environment in a room having a floor, said bathing environment comprising:
- an entry way, said entry way designed to be contiguous to and substantially flush with the floor;
- a channel in said entry way for collecting water therein; and
- a cover disposed over said channel such that said entry way cooperates with the floor so that entering or exiting said bathing environment is not encumbered.
2. The environment of claim 1 further comprising:
- a floor sloping towards said channel so that water in said bathing environment is directed to said channel.
3. The environment of claim 1 further comprising:
- a drain disposed in said channel for removing water therefrom.
4. The environment of claim 1 wherein said cover further comprises:
- a plurality of slots that are transverse to a longitudinal axis of said cover so that water flows into said channel.
5. A bathing environment, said bathing environment comprising:
- an entry way, said entry way being configured so as not to impede entry therethrough;
- a channel in said entry way for collecting water therein; and
- a cover disposed over said channel such that said entry way remains substantially level so that a user encounters no threshold if entering or exiting said bathing environment.
6. The environment of claim 5 further comprising:
- a floor sloping towards said channel so that water in said bathing environment is directed to said channel.
7. The environment of claim 5 further comprising:
- a drain disposed in said channel for removing water therefrom.
8. The environment of claim 5 wherein said cover further comprises:
- a plurality of slots that are transverse to a longitudinal axis of said cover so that water flows into said channel more readily than out of said environment.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 31, 2009
Publication Date: Feb 18, 2010
Inventors: Victor Hoernig (Lowell, IN), Charles A. Patterson (Durango, CO), Man Ki Yoo (Morton Grove, IL)
Application Number: 12/533,094