FR2522488A1 - BATHTUB ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH REDUCED MOTILITY - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION CONCERNS A BATHTUB, IN PARTICULAR OF THE "SABOT" TYPE, EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PERSONS, WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF A THIRD PERSON. FOR THIS EFFECT THE BATHTUB INCLUDES, ON ONE OF THE LONGITUDINAL SIDES OF ITS HULL 1, A LATERAL ACCESS OPENING 3 TIGHTLY CLOSABLE BY A DOOR 4, SO AS TO ALLOW ITS FILLING WITH WATER AND ITS NORMAL USE. DOOR 4 OPENS DOWN TO CLEAR OPENING 3 AND ALLOWS ACCESS TO SEAT 2 WITHOUT STEPPING THE EDGE OF THE TUB. APPLICATIONS: AT HOME OF DISABLED PEOPLE, IN HOSPITALS, IN REHABILITATION OR CURE CENTERS, IN HOTELS ACCESSIBLE TO DISABLED PEOPLE ...

Description

The present invention relates to an acces-

  for people with reduced motility, especially for the handicapped This bath can be of traditional form or of the "hoof" type; depending on the case, the following will be considered as the background or seat of this

  The main purpose of the invention is to facilitate

  ter access to the bottom or the seat of the bath, for people with disabilities, by avoiding them to step over the edge of the bath and by making unnecessary the help of a third person for their installation inside The invention furthermore proposes various arrangements that contribute to facilitating access to the bath in complete safety and also eliminating the

  risk of injury or burns during use.

the bathtub.

  In the field of bathtubs for people

  elderly and / or infirm, the previous achievements consist mainly of devices, accessories or improvements, such as "standing" apparatus, invalid chair, lift and downward seat, adaptable to traditional bathtubs.

  a front opening bath whose essential advantage

  tiel is to exempt a person with a disability from

  ber the edge, but this bathtub by not removing

  displacement from one plane to another of different heights

  the center of gravity of the body of the user, always offers the risk of slipping or falling as a result of the loss of contact, either with its seat for the disabled wheelchair, or with any point of support, usually cantilevered, and

  requires the presence and assistance of a third party

  do in almost all cases of motor disability.

  The present invention overcomes these disadvantages and is therefore intended to facilitate to all persons

  reduced motility access and use of a swimming pool

  re, without risk of sideways slipping or forward, even in the case of contractures, and without risk of injury -2

  or burns, which could be serious for

  idlers who have lost the tactile sensitivity.

  in the case of a hoof bath, the invention

  This seat makes the seat of this bathtub at the same height as that of a wheelchair seat, easily accessible without risk of falling, even in the case of a wet surface, a disabled person who can operate, on his own, his transfer. from the chair seat brought next to the bath seat, the simplicity of movement

  adopted, offering the user the advantage of helping to

  side cement of its center of gravity, in the same horizontal plane determined by the two seats arranged side by side, without any loss of contact with its direct points of support. For this purpose, the bath according to the present invention essentially comprises, to facilitate access to its

  seat or at its bottom, a moving part which, in a first

  first position, complete or constitutes itself the hull of the bath so as to allow its filling of water and its normal use and which, in a second position, releases an opening or a lateral access space

  located on one side of the seat or the bottom of the tub.

  According to a first embodiment of the invention

  tion, the bath has a lateral access opening formed on one of the longitudinal sides of its shell, this opening being closable in a sealed manner by a

  door opening downwards, upwards or longitudinally

  The bath thus includes a wide indentation

  side, which can be either closed off or completely

  If the door opens by moving downwards, so as to remain in the general volume of the bath, a system of

  simple guiding of this door can be achieved by

  the ends of said upper and lower guide finger door cooperating respectively with staggered slides. The descent and

  raising the door, as well as the approach of the gasket

  At the end of closure, for example under the control of at least one gear motor operating one or two racks The pressure on the joint at the end of the climb stroke can be obtained using two cams integrated with the aforementioned slides, these two cams

  being controlled by the same engine or a separate engine

reset in synchronism.

  Various opening / closing systems hinged, sliding, sliding, guillotine, toggle, double joint, telescopic, etc., horizontal or vertical, can also be imagined for the access door, the sealing of the bathtub after closure being provided by a pressure exerted by any means on a joint that can be throat, lip, flat, throat

  and lip, or flat and lip.

  The opening and closing maneuvers of the door can also be accomplished manually by being in this case preferably assisted by means such as

  Inert gas cylinders, refillable or not.

  In all cases, the door having been closed, the use

  sator installed on the seat or the bottom of the bath can then proceed to fill it The finished bath, it empties the bath then opens its door to get out without difficulty Additional safety can be provided for maintaining the lock of the bath door and the watertightness of the bathtub when the water is at its maximum level, as well as to control the

  level of water at its highest point to avoid overflowing

  is lying. According to another embodiment of the invention, the bath comprises a double shell, one of the shells comprising the seat or the bottom of the bath and the other shell, movable vertically relative to the first while remaining parallel to it. himself, coming into his position

  to supplement or constitute the higher part of the

  of the bath, while in its lower position it releases a lateral opening or access space to this bath The inner and outer walls of the bath are thus distributed over two shells which

  are interlocking one into the other by translation vert-

  tical; in the position of use of the bathtub, these walls come exactly in line with the

  each other, the watertightness being achieved by joining them

  The two hulls of the bathtub can be mobile,

  one amount while the other goes down, or more simply

  one is fixed and the other mobile

  relative to the two hulls can be controlled by a

  scissors single or double, housed between the two shells or fixed on an outer frame supporting the ground and forming a cradle Such a slave control can be

  possibly replaced by a manual command.

  This double-hull design can itself give rise to two particular embodiments: According to a first possibility, the bath comprises a lower shell having its seat or its bottom, and an upper shell which, in the normal position, forms all

  the upper part of the bathtub by connecting exactly

  lower hull, lowering the upper hull bringing it to the level of the lower hull so that the entire upper part of the

found retracted.

  According to a second possibility, the bath comprises an inner shell having a lateral opening

  access, and an outer shell with a full wall

  vertically so as to close or release the opening

  It is understood that this last shell has a role equivalent to that of the door of the first form.

of realization.

  According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the bath comprises a fixed seat and a hull pivotally mounted around said seat, following a

  horizontal axis oriented longitudinally between a posi-

  this hull completely surrounds the seat and a retracted position in which the space -

  located on one side of the seat is completely clear.

  When the hull is thus retracted, it releases entirely

  access to the seat, on which the disabled user can settle without difficulty The shell is then returned to its normal position, and held in place thanks to a locking system placed at the user's fingertips The pivoting the hull, in one direction or the other, is ensured for example by a mechanism

  with pulleys or gears which can be operated manually

  The fixed seat may be supported, at the front and at the rear, by parts of a frame situated above the pivot axis of the

  hull, said frame also comprising the bearings in the

  which rotates the hull According to another possible arrangement, the hinged hull is hinged to a gantry that frames the bath, while the fixed seat is

  realized as a basket suspended on this portico.

  The layout of such a portico, framing the

  according to another characteristic of the invention.

  preventing the installation of a rack-and-pinion suspension, offering the disabled user a direct point of support facilitating its installation on the bottom or the seat of the bath, and more particularly its transfer between the wheelchair seat and that of the bathtub or vice versa, and thus avoiding any risk

  drop, even in case of wet surface.

  The risks of lateral or forward sliding are also eliminated, and the comfort is also improved for the disabled user installed in the bathtub, by providing additional provisions such as

  enveloping form back, anti-bottom surface

  slippery but drawing avoiding any injuries, cushion

  foam or inflatable with water or air.

  Finally, in order to eliminate the risk of burns,

  the bathtub according to the present invention preferably comprises

  a faucet installation fitted into the wall of its shell on the side opposite the opening or 6 - the access space at the bottom or the seat of the bathtub This installation, molded under the upper edge of the shell and opposite the door or other device for access to the seat of the bath, allows the fitting to be housed on the outside of the wall, in which there is an opening allowing the filling water to flow into the bath in sliding on the inner side of the wall This installation is also arranged in such a way that the control knobs of the taps or the lever of the mixer, situated above the upper rim of the bath, do not project into the interior of the bath.

  the bath and are within easy reach of the user.

  seated sitting against the back of the seat This device can still receive, optional not doing

  part of the present invention, a thermostatic fitting

  It can also be arranged to allow the installation of a container containing liquid soap which the user can dose at will the mixture with

  bath water, or the connection of an ozone cartridge.

  In any case, the invention will be well understood in

  using the following description, with reference to the drawing

  schematic annexed representing, as examples not

  some forms of realization of this

  gnoire accessible to people with reduced motility:

  Figure 1 is a side view of a bathtub conforming

  to the present invention, with lateral opening ob-

  made by a door opening downwards;

  Figure 2 is a transverse half-section of the bath.

re of Figure 1;

  Figures 3 and 4 are views respectively in sec-

  longitudinal and in plan over this bathtub illustrating the shape of its seat and other provisions provided for the safety and comfort of the user;

  Figures 5 and 6 are external views, respectively

  side and end, a bathtub according to the preceding figures, supplemented by a gantry facilitating access to the bath by its user; Figures 7 and 8 are side views, respectively

  in the normal position of use and in a position

  access to a bathtub conforming to the present

  with double hull, vertical relative displacement; Figures 9 and 10 are views, respectively of side

  and in the end, a bathtub according to the present invention.

  swivel hull around a fixed seat.

  FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the invention applied to a hoof bath, that is to say the hull 1 of which has a seat 2 directly molded into the hull, said seat being at the same height as a seat

wheelchair.

  This bath has a lateral opening 3, meshes on one of the longitudinal sides of the wall of

  the hull 1 and completely releasing the access to the seat 2.

  The opening 3 can be closed by a door 4, of corresponding shape, which in the example shown opens

by moving down.

  For this purpose, as shown in Figure 1, the door 4 is provided at its ends with upper fingers 5 and lower 6 respectively guided in offset slides 7 and 8 In the raised position, the door 4 closes completely and so sealed the opening 3 In the

  lowered position, the door 4 completely releases the opening

  3 and allows a wheelchair user

easy access to the seat 2.

  To eliminate all risks of lateral slips or forward, and as shown in Figures 3 and 4, this

  seat 2 is provided with a rounded-form backrest 9

  pante, while its seat presents a backwards

  concave curvature 10 and, towards its front edge, an incur-

  Convex curvature 11 receives concave curvature

  a non-slip cushion 12 made of foam or

  vulcanized rubber which can be inflated with water or air,

  to reduce, at the level of the gluteal region of the user, a temporary compression risk of 8- cause mortification of the skin, especially in a

  disabled person who usually moves in a wheelchair.

  Throughout the lower part of the shell 1 can be molded, to complete the elimination of the risk of slipping forward, a non-slip coating 13 whose design also avoids any risk of foot injuries, including

  in the case of a handicapped person contracted.

  Referring again to Figure 1, a snapshot

  the faucet is made in 14, under the

  rim 15 of the shell 1 and in the wall thereof oppo-

  at access opening 3 in order to avoid further

  injuries from protruding parts and, above all,

  everything, the risks of burns that could be serious

  for a disabled person who has lost touch sensitivity.

  The water filling the bath flows on the wall

  top of the hull 1, through the snack opening

  The control knobs 16 of the valves and / or the handle of the mixer are arranged above the flange 15, without protruding inside the shell 1

  but still within the reach of the user

on the seat 2.

  As can be seen from Figures 5 and 6,

  This frame is surrounded by a gantry 17, provided with a rack 18 central suspension rack providing the disabled user a direct support point and without risk of falling, even in case of wet surface,

  and facilitating its installation on the seat 2 or reverse

  The portico 17 can be equipped with a shower curtain which can be operated by hand-pulled cords, and vertical panels or other supports arranged to be conveniently placed at the end of the bath. user's hand on the seat 2, all usual toiletries The gantry 17 may further be provided with a shower holder, fixed apple or mounted at the end of a flexible hose; alternatively, the shower head can also be suspended at arm height on the gallows

  18, or on a vertical side panel.

  In order to place the seat 2 of the bath at a height which is that of a wheelchair seat, as already indicated above, ie a ground clearance of about 50 centimeters, which height is otherwise sufficient to allow the maneuver of lowering the door 4 in order to disengage the lateral access opening 3,

  the hull 1 is for example suspended from the gantry 17.

  This hull can also be mounted on a cradle or on feet that position it to the desirable height

above ground.

  The manufacture of the shell 1 is provided in fiberglass or light alloy foundry or other components, ensuring sufficient elasticity and strength, in order to achieve by simple structure all moldings for the development of versions adapted to different

  types of disability and, thanks to its relative weight,

  low, or 12 to 15 kilograms for a shell, easily removable bathtub whose installation, from one housing to another, can be facilitated by a connection

  universal adaptable to different evacuation devices.

wastewater.

  The gantry 17 whose suspension bracket 18 offers a bearing capacity of about 200 kilograms in order to

  guarantee, even to a disabled user of a strong body of

  lence, the safety of the direct point of support, is constructed using profiled tubes of light alloy unalterable to moisture; it is removable and can also be

easily moved.

  Figures 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the invention, wherein the shell la, lb is double The lower shell la comprises the seat 2 of the tub and the entire lower part of the wall thereof The hull upper lb forms the whole part

  high of the wall of the bath and its rim.

  In the normal position, shown in Figure 7, the upper shell 1b overcomes the lower shell 1a, - so that the inner and outer walls of one are exactly in the extension of the corresponding walls of the other, a seal being made in the joint plane To access the bath, a scissor mechanism 19 is actuated, so as to lower vertically the upper shell lb, to bring it to the level of the lower shell la (see Figure 8) Any

  the upper part of the bathtub is then

Motee.

  In a variant illustrated briefly by the layout

  in phantom lines in Figure 8, the inner shell is

  extended upwards and has in its wall an opening

  lateral part 3, following the same design as that already described with reference to the first figures The other outer shell and solid wall, vertically movable, allows to completely close or to clear the access opening 3, playing the same role that the door of the first form

of realization.

  Finally, FIGS. 9 and 10 show a last embodiment of the invention, in which a shell 11 to

  solid wall is pivotally mounted along a horizontal axis

  tal 20, oriented longitudinally, by two opposite journals 21 and 22 mounted in respective bearings 23 and 24 which, in the example shown, belong to a frame 25 bearing on the ground The frame 25 supports, by its upper parts 26 and 27, located higher than the axis 20, a fixed seat 2 'located inside the shell 1 J, but in profile dimensioned so as not to impede the pivoting of the shell 1'

around the axis 20.

  When the shell 1 'completely surrounds the seat 21, its flange being situated in a horizontal plane, the assembly

  constitutes a complete bathtub that can be used

  male To allow easy access to the seat 2 ', the shell 11 is tilted downward and outward, following

  arrow 28 in Figure 10, so as to clear the entire

  one side of the seat 2 '.

  In a variant not represented respecting the same

  principle, the hinged shell 1 'is hinged to a door

  The frame framing the tub, of the same kind as that of Figures 5 and 6, and the seat 2 'is like a basket suspended from the same portico. It is understood that the present invention contributes to the autonomy of movements of people with reduced motility, installed or resettled at home, so allows them to overcome the assistance of a third person, in most cases of disability, for the accomplishment of an act of hygiene which is all the more necessary to them that they are often subject, by their handicap, to

urinary incontinence.

  The present invention can also, in the field

  hospital, facilitate the distribution and improve the ef-

  of hygiene care provided to hospital patients

  located in motor rehabilitation centers or in

  treatment of neurological conditions and trau-

matter or cure.

  In the hotel sector, establishments already accessible to wheelchair users could significantly improve the accommodation conditions of their residents with reduced mobility, by being equipped

  of the bathtub subject of the present invention.

  It goes without saying, and as a result of the above, that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments of this bath accessible to people with reduced motility which have been described above, as examples; it embraces, on the contrary, all the variants conceived according to the same principle, whatever the constructive details or the complementary equipments It is thus, in particular that starting from the

  first embodiment described, one moves away from

  It is not within the scope of the invention to modify the opening direction of the door 4 (upwards or longitudinally), and adapting the means of manual or slave operation of said door as appropriate, or applying the same principle of a closable access opening by means of a door to a bathtub

  traditional form and not the type "hoof".

_ 13 -

Claims (10)

  1 bathtub with traditional shape or type   "hoof" accessible to persons with reduced motility,   characterized in that it comprises for facilitating access to its seat (2,2 ') or its bottom, a movable part (4,   lb, 1 ') which, in a first position, completes or con-   Tituce itself the hull (1, la) of the bathtub so   to allow its filling of water and its normal use   male and who, in a second position, releases an opening   (3) or an access side space on one side of the   seat (2) or the bottom of the bath.   2 bathtub according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a lateral access opening (3) formed on one of the longitudinal sides of its shell (1), this opening (3) being closable sealingly by   a door (4) opening downwards, upwards or downwards   gitudinalement. Bathtub according to claim 2, characterized in that its door (4), opening downwards to disengage the lateral access opening (3) from the shell (1), is provided at its ends with fingers of top guidance (5) and   (6) cooperating respectively with sliding offset (7,8).   4 bathtub according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a double shell (la, lb), one of the shells (la) comprising the seat (2) or the bottom of   the bathtub and the other hull (1b), movable vertically   relative to the first while remaining parallel to itself, coming into its upper position to complete or constitute itself the upper part of the bath,   while in its low position it releases an opening   lateral section (3) or an access space to this bath.   Bathtub according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises a lower shell (la) comprising the seat (2) or the bottom of the bath, and an upper shell (1b) which, in the normal position, forms the whole part top of the bathtub by connecting exactly 14 - to the lower shell (la), lowering the upper shell (1 b) bringing it to the level of the lower shell   (la) so that the whole upper part of the gnoire is retracted.   Bathtub according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises an inner shell having a lateral access opening (3), and an outer shell   with a solid wall movable vertically so as to ob-   open or remove the access opening (3).   Bathtub according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a fixed seat (2 ') and a shell (1') pivotally mounted around said seat (2 '), along a horizontal axis (20) oriented longitudinally, between a normal position in which this shell (1 ') completely surrounds the seat (2') and a retracted position in which the space on one side of the seat (2 ') is completely clear.   Bath according to Claim 7, characterized in that the fixed seat (2 ') is supported at the front and at the rear by parts (26, 27) of a frame (25) situated above the pivot axis (20) of the shell (1 '), said frame (25) also comprising the bearings (23,24) in   which journals the hull (1 ').   Bathtub according to any one of the claims   1 to 8, characterized in that it is framed by a gantry (17) provided with a rack (18) suspension rack, providing the user with a direct support point facilitating its installation on the bottom or headquarters (2,2 ') of the bathtub.   Bathtub according to the set of claims   7 and 9, characterized in that the hinged shell (11) is hinged to the gantry (17), while the fixed seat   (2 ') is realized as a basket suspended at this point. that (17).   Bathtub according to any one of the claims   1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises a tap fitting (14), arranged in the wall - of its shell (1) on the opposite side to the opening (3) or to   access to the bottom or seat (2) of the bathtub.