GB2381746A

GB2381746A - Bath with door

Info

Publication number: GB2381746A
Application number: GB0225950A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Lomas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-11-13
Filing date: 2002-11-07
Publication date: 2003-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2022-11-07
Also published as: GB0225950D0; GB2381746B; GB0127221D0

Abstract

A bath comprises a bath tub 2, a door aperture (3, Fig 1) in the wall of the bath tub, said aperture (3, Fig 1) extends from and generally tapers inwards from the top edge of the bath tub towards the base of the bath tub, and a tapered door aperture door 4 larger than the door aperture, in use the periphery of the door rests against the inside of the tub wall adjacent the door aperture. Hinge means 10 are provided to hinge the door to the bath tub wall, said hinge means 10 include a motor to lift the door 4 from a closed position relative to the aperture to a raised position allowing the tapered door 4 to swing through the tapered aperture out of the bath tub 2.

Description

Bath The present invention relates to a novel bath of the type which has a door to enable a person to walk into it.

"Walk in"baths are well known and normally consist of a bath tub with a seat inside the tub and a door hinged to the wall of the tub. Some such baths have inward opening doors which have the advantage that, in use, the water pressure seals the door against the bath wall, but the door aperture size can be restrictive to those with mobility problems or in a wheelchair. Other such baths have outward opening doors, but these have a tendency to leak as the pressure of water inside, when they are full, is biasing the door into an open position. A bath which has an outward opening door (but with the sealing benefit of an inward opening bath) allowing use for those with mobility problems or in a wheelchair is described in my UK patent application no 9813295.4, (Serial No.

2,333, 699). However the door in this bath needs to be lifted manually and some people are not able to do this on their own and get into the bath. Also some people need an assistant to get into the bath and the assistant is unable to lift the bath door as well as assist a person simultaneously to get into the bath.

The invention seeks to provide a bath with an outward opening door which has the benefits of an inward opening door, and with a motor to open the door.

According to the present invention there is provided a bath comprising a bath tub, a door aperture in the wall of the bath tub, said aperture extending from and generally

tapering inwards from the top edge of the bath tub towards the base of the bath tub, and a tapered door aperture door larger than the door aperture, in use the periphery of the door resting against the inside of the tub wall adjacent the door aperture, hinge means to hinge the door to the bath tub wall, said hinge means including a motor to lift the door from a closed position relative to the aperture to a raised position allowing the tapered door to swing through the tapered aperture out of the bath tub.

In one embodiment the aperture is defined by a peripheral flange on the tub wall adjacent the outer face of the aperture against which the door abuts when in the closed position. A seal may be provided between the door and the flange.

Preferably the hinge includes a carriage which slides on a generally vertical track mounted on the bath tub adjacent the aperture, and said hinge includes at least one arm pivoted to the carriage and the door is secured to the or each arm. Preferably the motor raises and lowers the carriage to raise and lower the door from and to a closed position respectively. The motor may drive a continuous belt which engages with the carriage.

Preferably the carriage rests on a projection located on the belt under the weight of gravity which projection moves up and down to lower and raise the door, whereby if the door is obstructed from lowering to a closed position as the projection moves down, the projection separates from the carriage, and whereby if the motor fails to operate the door can be raised manually and separates from the projection.

Preferably at least one switch is provided to limit the up and down movement of the projection.

Preferably the motor is operated by one or more switches on the bath tub. An indicator such as a light indicator may be provided to indicate when the door is fully closed and the bath ready to fill with water. The indicator may be connected to a limit switch activated by the carriage when the door is in the closed position.

Means may be provided to prevent water from entering the bath unless said door is fully closed.

A sensor may be provided to sense the presence of water in the bath and to prevent said motor operating the door when water is in the bath.

Preferably one or more guides are provided around the periphery of the aperture to allow the door to compress the seal when in the lowered position.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bath, Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the door of the bath in figure 1 in the open position, Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the door of the bath in figure 1 in the closed position, and

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the motor mechanism.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a walk in bath 1 having a bath tub 2, and a door aperture 3 in the wall of the bath tub 2. Aperture 3 extends from and generally tapers inwards from the top edge of the bath tub towards the base of the bath tub (see Figure 3).

A tapered door 4 is provided just larger than the door aperture.

Bath 1 has a set of taps 5, a seat 6, and drain holes 7 as is known in the art. A"door open"button switch 8A and a"door closed"button switch 8B is provided, along with a "door closed"indicator light 9, as more fully described below.

Door aperture 3 is defined by an outer peripheral flange 31 formed by the tub wall adjacent the aperture. Flange 31 supports a sealing strip 32 facing inwards into the bath tub. Door aperture 3 includes an inner peripheral flange 33 having a tapered inner edge 33A. A tapered groove 34 is formed between the inner and outer flanges to receive door 4. When door 4 is lowered into the groove 34, the tapered inner edge of flange 33 acts as a guide to bias the door towards the seal 32 to compress it, and the door is supported by and abuts flange 31. As shown, door 4 includes a shaped peripheral flange 41 on the inside peripheral edge to fit into the grove 34, and when door 4 is closed its outer face is flush with the outer face of the bath tub wall.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, door 4 is connected on the outside to the bath tub wall by hinge means in the form of a motorised hinge 10. Hinge 10 includes a door plate 101 with a pair of projecting arms 102A, 102B which are pivoted to a vertical shaft 103

supported on projections 104A, 104B (See Figure 4) on a carriage in the form of travel plate 105 which slides vertically up and down in tracks 106A, 106B as described more fully below. If the plate 105 is moved to the top of the tracks, the door 4 is in the raised position as shown in Figure 2. In this position the tapered door 4 is sufficiently clear from the tapered aperture 3 so as to be able to swing open to allow access to the bath tub. When the plate is moved to the bottom of the tracks, and the door is in the same plane as the door aperture, the door come to rest in the closed position as shown in Figure 3.

In order to open the door, switch 8A is pressed which operates a motor to raise the travel plate 105. In order to close the door, the door is first manually swung into the same plane as the door aperture, a projection (not illustrated) on the outer surface of the door engaging the outer surface of the wall of the bath to prevent the door being opened into the bath beyond the plane of the aperture. The switch 8B is then pressed to operates the motor and lower the travel plate 105. When fully closed, the door closed light 9 is illuminated.

As can be seen when the door is open (Figure 1), a section of aperture 3 is at the same level as the seat 6 so that a person in a wheelchair can slide sideways off the wheelchair onto the seat 6.

Referring now to Figure 4, travel plate 105 has two projections 107 A, 107B extending from either end to form a U-shaped cavity 108 between the travel plate 5 and tracks 106A, 106B. A motor 20 drives a toothed wheel 21 which in turns drives a continuous toothed belt 22 around upper guide wheel 23, lower guide wheel 24, and

spring-loaded belt tension wheel 25. Connected to belt 22 is a projection in the form of travel block 26 which projects into the cavity 108. Motor 20 is connected to drive the belt anticlockwise on pressing the door up button 8A, and is connected to drive the belt clockwise on pressing the door down button 8B.

When the belt 22 is driven anticlockwise, the block 26 engages the shoulder 107A of travel plate 105 and lifts the travel plate so raising the door 4 to the open position. A limit switch 27A is located adjacent wheel 23 turns the motor off when triggered by the block 26 when the block reaches it, so limiting the upward movement of the travel plate 105 and hence the door 4.

When the belt is driven anticlockwise, the travel plate follows the block 26 downwards under the influence of gravity so lowering door 4. A limit switch 27B is located adjacent wheel 24 and turns the motor off when triggered by the block 26 when the block reaches it, so limiting the downward movement of the block 26. Just before the block 26 reaches the switch 27B, the door will actually be in the closed position and the weight of the door taken by the bath tub wall around the periphery of the door aperture. In this position the travel plate will trigger a further limit switch 28 which activates the door closed light 9.

If the motor should fail, then the door can be lifted manually to open it as the block 26 will slide to the bottom of the cavity 108. Also if a person should obstruct the lowering of the door (e. g. by leaving a foot under the door so that the door lowers onto the foot), the

foot will not be crushed by the power of the motor as the block 26 will separate from the shoulder 107A and travel towards the bottom of the cavity 108 and will turn the motor off by activating limit switch 27.

Means (not shown) may be provided to prevent water from entering the bath unless the door is fully closed, e. g. by providing solenoid operated valves on the water feed pipes to the taps 5, which solenoids close the valves until the limit switch 28 is activated by the travel plate 105. A sensor (not shown) may be provided to sense the presence of water in the bath and to prevent motor 20 operating the door when water is in the bath.

The invention may take a form different to that specifically described above. For example a cover may be provided to cover the lifting mechanism, ie. a slot could be provided in the bath wall behind which the travel plate would move, with only the projections 104A, 104B extending through the slot. The method by which the door seals with the door aperture could be other than as described, and the manner in which the motor raises and lowers the door could be different, e. g. using hydraulics instead of a belt.

It is envisaged that for safety reasons the motor could be a low voltage motor, e. g.

12 volts. The motor could be connected to a standard transformer/plug inserted into a socket remote from the bath, e. g. outside the room the bath is located. The socket may be controlled by a suitable circuit breaker.

Instead of rigid connections, for example welds, between the door plate 101 and the arms 102A and 102B hinged connections may be provided.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A bath comprising a bath tub, a door aperture in the wall of the bath tub, said aperture extending from and generally tapering inwards from the top edge of the bath tub towards the base of the bath tub, and a tapered door aperture door larger than the door aperture, in use the periphery of the door resting against the inside of the tub wall adjacent the door aperture, hinge means to hinge the door to the bath tub wall, said hinge means including a motor to lift the door from a closed position relative to the aperture to a raised position allowing the tapered door to swing through the tapered aperture out of the bath tub.
2. A bath as claimed in claim 1, in which the aperture is defined by a peripheral flange on the tub wall adjacent the outer face of the aperture against which the door abuts when in the closed position.
3. A bath as claimed in claim lor claim 2, in which a seal is provided between the door and the flange.
4. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the hinge means includes a carriage which slides on a generally vertical track mounted on the bath tub adjacent the aperture, said hinge means including at least one arm pivoted to the carriage and the door being secured to the or each arm.
5. A bath as claimed in claim 4, in which the motor raises and lowers the carriage to raise and lower the door from and to a closed position respectively.

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6. A bath as claimed in claim 5, in which the motor drives a continuous belt which engages with the carriage.
7. A bath as claimed in claim 6, in which the carriage rests on a projection located on the belt under the weight of gravity, which projection moves up and down to lower and raise the door, whereby if the door is obstructed from lowering to a closed position as the projection moves down, the projection separates from the carriage, and whereby if the motor fails to operate the door can be raised manually and separates from the projection.
8. A bath as claimed in claim 7, in which at least one switch is provided to limit the up and down movement of the projection.
9. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the motor is operated by one or more switches on the bath tub.
10. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which an indicator such as a light indicator may be provided to indicate when the door is fully closed and the bath ready to fill with water.
11. A bath as claimed in claim 10 when dependent on claim 4, in which the indicator is connected to a limit switch activated by the carriage when the door is in the closed position.

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12. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which means are provided to prevent water from entering the bath unless said door is fully closed.
13. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a sensor is provided to sense the presence of water in the bath and to prevent said motor operating the door when water is in the bath.
14. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim, in which one or more guides are provided around the periphery of the aperture to allow the door to compress the seal when in the lowered position.

15 A bath substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.