PORTABLE TUB
A portable shower tub provides an upright enclosure to allow a person to bathe without a fixed tub. The portable shower tub may be a collapsible design formed of telescoping slats concentrically arranged to form substantially a semi-cone. The slats may be configured to interlock with a watertight seal, or a liner may be suspended from the rim to hold water. A liner may be formed of an antimicrobial substance and/or treated with a mold inhibitor to promote sanitary use.
This application is a divisional application claiming the benefit of and incorporates by reference U.S. application Ser. No. 12/392,873 filed Feb. 25, 2009.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis specification relates to the field of health and hygiene, and more particularly to a portable tub.
BACKGROUNDMuch of the prior art in this field addresses the problem of bathing an individual confined to a bed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,848 describes a modular portable shower with an impermeable liner and a modular frame that permits one to shower a bedridden person; U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,970 describes a portable bathing apparatus to be used on a mattress and being collapsible for efficient storage and transportation; U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,502 describes a portable bathing tub for invalids, especially bed-ridden persons. These inventions require the user to lie down in the portable tub during bathing and are ill-suited for use by persons who may have difficultly lying down to bathe.
Other prior art teaches various forms of tubs, some intended for use with shower stalls. U.S. Pat. No. 2,420,448 teaches a telescopic bathtub, with an extended position for use. When the bathtub is in the extended position, its configuration is essentially the same as an ordinary bathtub it and functions the same as an ordinary bathtub. As such, a user must climb over the walls to enter the bathtub and lie down in the tub to bathe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,734 discloses an apparatus for converting a rectangular shower stall booth into a bath. The apparatus comprises a rigid frame mounted to the shower stall and a waterproof insert to retain water. This bathtub extends out of the shower and, among other things, will not work with a non-rectangular shower stall. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,540 teaches a portable, lightweight free-standing tub accessory for use in conventional shower stalls. However, this portable tub is not collapsible for easy storage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect, a portable shower tub provides an upright enclosure for water to allow a person to bathe in without a fixed tub. The portable shower tub may be of various designs, including a collapsible design formed of telescoping slats concentrically arranged or a ribbed structure with a liner. A liner may be formed of an antimicrobial substance and/or treated with a mold inhibitor to promote sanitary use.
A portable tub may be useful for allowing a person to bathe in a standard shower or tub. A portable tub may be constructed so that it may be placed in a shower or bathtub and pulled up around the bathing person and then fixed in an extended state. The bathing person may then fill the portable tub with water and bathe. This will allow the person bathing to have the benefits of immersion in warm water without having to lie down in a conventional bathtub. This may be particularly useful for individuals who are elderly or handicapped, and who have difficulty lying down in a conventional bathtub.
A portable tub will now be described with more particular reference to the attached drawings. Hereafter, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments. Throughout this disclosure, a hyphenated form of a reference numeral refers to a specific instance or example of an element and the un-hyphenated form of the reference numeral refers to the element generically or collectively. Thus, for example, 102-1 may refer to a “pen,” which may be an instance or example of the class of “writing implements.” Writing implements may be referred to collectively as “writing implements 102” and any one may be referred to generically as a “writing implement 102.”
In an alternative to the embodiment shown in
While the subject of this specification has been described in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments, it is not intended to limit the claims to the particular forms set forth. On the contrary, the appended claims are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within their spirit and scope.
Claims
1. A portable tub comprising:
- a lightweight concave base member including a closeable drain hole configured to allow water to drain from the portable tub in a controlled manner;
- a structural frame mechanically coupled to the base, the structural frame comprising:
- a plurality of upright rigid supporting rods mechanically engaging the base member;
- a horizontal structural bracket adjustably engaging the supporting rods on sliders, whereby an adjustable height is provided for the portable tub;
- a plurality of concentric horizontal ribs;
- a water-proof liner abutting the structural frame and configured to hold water; and
- a submersible chair constructed of a lightweight non-reactive material and configured to be submerged when the liner is filled with water.
2. The portable tub of claim 1 wherein the chair is rigidly molded to the base member.
3. The portable tub of claim 1 wherein the chair is removable from the base member.
4. a power supply supplying electrical power to the pump; and The portable tub of claim 20 wherein the immersible chair fu further comprises:
- a pump,
- a plurality of jets, the jets configured to provide therapeutic water force
5. The portable tub of claim 4 wherein the power supply is a battery-powered direct current supply sealed in a watertight immersible compartment.
6. The portable tub of claim 1 wherein the bracket is rectangular
7. The portable tub of claim 1 wherein the supporting rods are telescoping rods.
8. A portable tub comprising: wherein the submersible chair further comprises a pump, a rechargeable battery supplying direct current to the pump and sealed in a water-tight compartment, and a plurality of jets configured to provide therapeutic water pressure to an occupant of the chair when the chair is submerged.
- a lightweight concave base member constructed of non-reactive material, including a closeable drain hole configured to allow water to drain from the portable tub in a controlled manner, and having molded thereon a submersible chair constructed of the same material as the base member, the base member further including a pair of extruded slots at polar opposite ends of the base member;
- a structural frame comprising:
- a pair of rigid upright supporting rods mechanically engaging the base member at the extruded slots, the rigid upright supporting rods being of substantially the same height as each other and taller than the submersible chair;
- at least two horizontal ribs mechanically engaging the upright supporting rods at their circumference;
- a horizontal adjustable bracket slidingly engaging the rigid upright supporting rods on sliders, and further comprising mounting pins engaging holes in the upright supporting rods, whereby an adjustable height is provided for the portable tub;
- a water-tight liner abutting the structural frame and configured to be filled with water;
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 23, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 16, 2012
Inventor: HILDA EUNICE GIBSON (Laredo, TX)
Application Number: 13/453,139
International Classification: A47K 3/06 (20060101);