GB2320187A - Bath having user support means - Google Patents

Abstract

A bath 110 having a head end 111 and a foot end 112 is provided with a transversely-disposed user support means 120 intermediate the respective ends 111, 112. The bottom of the bath may slope downwardly from the head end 111 to the foot end 112. The head end may include a narrow portion which serves to cradle the head and neck of the occupant. Various means of adjusting the position of the support 120 are disclosed, including providing a series of grooves 118 on the inner side walls of the bath into which the ends of the support 120 are slotted.

Description

BABY BATH The present invention relates to a bath and, in particular, to a baby bath and/or a bath suitable for older children or adults who are incapacitated and incapable of bathing themselves.

Prior art baby baths have traditionally been configured as a bowl which mimics the shape of a full-size bath, save for the omission of taps and a drainage outlet.

More recently, some baby baths moulded in plastics material have been formed with a slight depression near one end thereof which serves as a seat for the infant during the conduct of a bath. The lip of the depression helps to prevent the infant from sliding forwards towards the foot of the bath.

It is accepted teaching that the infant is supported in an upright sitting position by the responsible adult who is bathing the infant. However, in practice, it is very difficult to bath a lively infant satisfactorily when one of the adult's arms or hands is employed in maintaining the infant in the upright seated position.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome this prejudice in the prior art by providing a bath which restrains the occupant in a near-supine attitude without the need for support from a supervising adult.

Previously, in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 92-2789 and 92-2790, it has been proposed to use a portable cradle for supporting the infant in a near-supine attitude. Having thus supported the infant, the portable cradle and infant are lowered together into the bath.

This proposal has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the portable cradle is a somewhat complicated device which requires a degree of expertise to utilise satisfactorily. If the supervising adult is at all intimidated by the complexity of the cradle, anxiety is transmitted to the infant and bathtime can become a traumatic experience. Secondly, the cradle provides little positive restraint on the infant as they are lowered into the bath. The supervising adult has to hold the cradle rather than the infant so, if the infant wriggles, there is a risk that it will squirm free from the cradle and fall. Thirdly, the combined weight of the infant plus cradle can be considerable, so the act of lowering them into the bath may result in back strain on the part of the supervising adult. The risk of such back strain is heightened by the fact that the configuration of the cradle necessitates that it is held some distance from the adult's body. Another drawback is that such a cradle arrangement is unsuitable for older children or infirm adults, unless the act of lowering the person plus cradle into the bath is assisted by motors, pulleys, or the like.

It is therefore a further object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art referenced above.

The invention is a bath having an adjustable buttock support for stably supporting the occupant in a near-supine position.

The buttock support is disposed transversely in the bath and may extend all the way across the bath to engage with the opposing sides of thereof. It may be a plain sheet of material, but is preferably curved to cradle the buttocks. Most preferably, it is anatomically shaped to conform to the curvature of the buttocks, thereby minimising discomfort through localised pressure contact. The aim of anatomical shaping is to spread load over a wider area of the buttocks.

Preferably, the buttock support is provided with a pair of slots for the occupant's legs, allowing them to extend beyond the buttock support towards the foot of the bath.

The bottom of the bath may slope downwardly from the head end towards the foot end to assist in keeping the occupant's head above the level of the feet, and also to encourage adoption of the desired near-supine position.

Because the buttock support restrains the occupant against sliding movement towards the foot of the bath, the supervising adult is able to use both hands/arms for bathing rather than having to use just one hand for this purpose and the other hand for supporting the occupant.

Various alternative means can be employed to achieve adjustability of the buttock support.

For example, the sides of the bath, on their inner faces, may be provided with a series of spaced grooves or recesses into which opposed ends of the buttock support are engagable by sliding. To adjust the position of the buttock support, it is simply disengaged from one pair of grooves and engaged instead with a neighbouring pair of grooves, either closer to or further away from the head end of the bath, as appropriate. The grooves may be substantially upright, or they may slope towards the head of the bath or towards the foot of the bath.

Sloping grooves are most preferably used in combination with a substantially planar buttock support, rather than with buttock supports having a substantial thickness (longitudinal dimension relative to the bottom of the bath) at the base thereof. The planar buttock support may be moulded with pronounced curvature, both in the sense of curving around the buttocks and also curving partly underneath the buttocks. It is therefore preferable for the planar buttock support to be flexible at its ends, so that the curvature of the support serves to engage it in the grooves with a moderate wedging action.

The width of the grooves can therefore be considerably greater than the thickness of the buttock support because the curvature of the buttock support is equivalent in effect to using thicker material.

The angle of the grooves relative to the vertical may be between 0 and 600, more preferably from 10 to 500 and most preferably from 15 to 450.

As an to alternative to the sliding method of engaging the buttock support with the grooves, engagement and disengagement may be effected through flexure of the buttock support so that its ends can be manipulated into and out of the grooves. Of course, the buttock support must not be so flexible that it can be disengaged accidentally by the bath occupant.

In an alternative arrangement to the ridges and grooves described above, the bottom of the bath may be provided with a longitudinal channel engagable by a centre portion of the buttock support, for example by means of a springurged clip or by resilient formations provided on the support. In such an arrangement, the buttock support need not extend across the full width of the bath, but may be restricted to a single centrally-disposed formation.

In the spring-urged clip embodiment, in the relaxed condition, the clip is open and urges itself against the walls of the channel to prevent migration of the buttock support. In order to release the buttock support so that its position can be adjusted, the clip must be actuated against the return force of its spring. This disengages it from the walls of the channel, allowing the buttock support to be slid to a new position. In the embodiment that uses resilient formations to engage with the channel, these may be manually actuated to ease the engagement so that the support can be slid to its new position. One of the advantages of the channel embodiment over the arrangement of grooves or recesses described above is its infinite variability: The positioning of the buttock support is not restricted by the spacing of the grooves.

In another alternative arrangement, the buttock support may be provided with extensions which overlap the sides of the bath and which are adapted to be releasably secured thereto, for example by screw-clamping. Alternatively, the extensions may be formed with resilient means that engage with formations provided on the external walls of the bath sides.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view partially cut away showing a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front perspective view of a buttock support in accordance with the first embodiment; Figure 3 is a perspective view of another bath showing a variant of the first embodiment including an arrangement of inclined ridges and grooves engageable by a planar buttock support; Figure 4 is a partial side-on view of the bath illustrated in Figure 3, showing a curved planar buttock support wedged in an inclined groove; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a bath in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a partial cross-section on line 5-5' of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a side sectional view of a buttock support for use with the bath depicted in Figures 5 and 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a bath in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 9 is a partial end view showing engagement of the buttock support to the bath rim by releasable means.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 4, here is shown a baby bath 100 having a head end 111 and a foot end 112 and a substantially planar bottom 113.

Although not shown in these figures, the bottom of the bath 100 may be configured to slope downwardly from the head end 111 towards the foot end 112 to assist in keeping the occupant's head above the level of the feet and to encourage the occupant to adopt a near-supine position. Also, the head end 111 may be substantially narrower than the foot end 11 2 to act as cradle means for the neck and head of the occupant.

Towards the foot end 112 of the bath 100, the spacing between its side walls 114, 115 is substantially constant at a given distance below the bath rim 116 for reasons which will be explained in more detail below. In this region, the side walls 114, 115 of the bath 100 are formed with a series of ridges 117 and grooves 118. A groove 118 is formed at the root between two neighbouring ridges 11 7. The grooves 118 are adapted to receive the ends 128 of a buttock support 120 which is slotted into the bath 100 between opposing grooves 118 at a desired distance from the head end 111. Thus it is clear that in the region formed with ridges and grooves, the bath must not taper in the longitudinal direction, otherwise the buttock support will not fit.

Referring now to Figure 2 in particular, the buttock support 120 is a transverse member dimensioned to extend across the entire width of the bath 100 in that portion thereof where the ridges 117 and grooves 118 are formed.

The ends 128 of the buttock support are arranged to have the same orientation relative to the vertical as the side walls 1 14, 115 of the bath. This enables the buttock support 120 to be fully engaged in grooves 118 so that its base 123 rests substantially flush with the bottom 113 of the bath 100. The buttock support 120 is provided with a pair of leg slots 124, 125 through which the occupant's legs protrude during use of the bath. The centre portion 126 of the buttock support 120 is a thickened portion designed to be anatomically shaped to conform to the shape of a baby's bottom. The upstanding portion 126 visible in Figure 1 is similar in shape to the horn of a saddle. By cradling the baby's bottom against centre portion 126, discomfort through localised pressure spots is minimised.

The three-dimensional shape of the buttock support 120 can be seen clearly in the perspective view of Figure 2. Preferably, the edges of the leg slots 124, 125 are gently radiused for increased comfort. Similarly, any other parts of the buttock support 120 that contact the baby's/occupant's person are preferably radiused.

Alternatively, the ridges 117 and grooves 118 can be formed at an angle to the vertical, as shown in the variant illustrated by Figures 3 and 4. This allows a relatively thin buttock support 120 to be used, said buttock support having a pronounced curvature which allows it to be resiliently wedged in grooves 18, as best seen with reference to Figure 4. The top and bottom portions of the buttock support 120 engage the rear of one ridge whilst a mid portion engages the front surface of the neighbouring ridge.

Turning now to Figures 5 to 7, here is shown a second embodiment of the present invention.

The bath 210 has substantially plain side walls 214, 215 without moulded ridges and grooves thereon. Instead, the region towards the foot end 212 of the bath 210 is provided with a longitudinally-disposed channel 219 formed in the base 213.

As best seen in the cross-sectional partial view of Figure 5, the sides 217, 218 of the channel 219 are slightly re-entrant for reasons which will be explained in more detail below with reference to Figure 7.

Figure 7 is a side sectional view of a buttock support 220 designed to co-operate releasably with channel 219 to give infinitely variable adjustability of the position of the buttock support 220 within the bath 210. The buttock support 220 comprises an upstanding portion 226 which, like its counterpart 126 in Figures 1 and 2 relating to the first embodiment described above, is similar to the horn of a saddle. The base of the upstanding portion may have an extension member 227 protruding towards the head end 211 of the bath 210 in use. Extension member 227 is shown in dotted outline in this view.

Extension member 227 overlies the channel 219 in the region immediately beneath the baby/occupant and helps to reduce the risk of pinching or other discomfort.

On the rear of upstanding portion 226, i.e. on the surface thereof remote from the head end 211 of the bath 210, is pivotally mounted a spring-urged locking arm 221. The locking arm is carried between a pair of webs 224 (only one shown) affixed to the rear of the upstanding portion 226 and is journalled thereto in any suitable fashion for pivotal movement about a pivot axis 222.

The lowermost portion of the locking arm 221 is bent at the pivot point 222 towards the foot end 212 of the bath through an angle approaching 900 and has a second bend 223 also approaching 900 just beyond the rearmost extent of the webs 224. The second bend 223 orients the bottom stretch of the locking arm 221 towards the base 216 of the channel 219.

A leaf spring 228 operable between the rear of the upstanding portion 226 and the locking arm 221 urges the locking arm 221 away from the upstanding portion 226 and, by virtue of the pivoting motion about the pivot axis 222, presses the foot 225 of the locking arm 221 into frictional engagement with the base 216 of the channel 219. The buttock support 220 is prevented from lifting out of engagement with the channel 219 by retaining members 229 (only one shown) which engage beneath the re-entrant sides 217, 218 of the channel 219.

To release the buttock support 220 for slidable movement along the channel 219, the upper part of locking arm 221 is moved in the direction of arrow A (see Figure 7) towards the rear of the upstanding portion 226 against the return force of the leaf spring 228. The foot 225 of the locking arm 221 is then pivoted out of frictional engagement with the base 216 of the channel 219 to free the buttock support for sliding movement.

Although not shown in any of Figures 5 to 7, the channel 219 may have a wider section near one end thereof which allows removal and re-attachment of the buttock support 220 for cleaning purposes.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, here is showri a third embodiment of the present invention. Unlike the first and second embodiments described above, the bath 310 has no special formations moulded on its interior surfaces.

It may be completely smooth and plain, save for the options of having a bottom 313 which slopes downwardly from the head end 311 towards the foot end 312 and/or a narrow portion in the region of the head end 311 for cradling the head and neck of the occupant.

A transverse buttock support 320 is provided which, like the preceding embodiments, is anatomically shaped in its centre portion 326 like the horn of a saddle. However, this buttock support differs from the previous embodiments by having end portions 328 which are higher than the rim 316 of the bath 310 and which overhang the rim 316 of the bath 310 in a manner that is described in more detail below.

The end portions 328 of the buttock support are mirror-image likenesses of each other and only one is described in detail in the text which follows, with reference to Figure 9 in particular. The end portion 328 of one side of buttock support 320 comprises an extension member 330 which is at least partially flexible at the very extremity thereof to facilitate manipulation of the extension member 330 over the rim 316 of the bath. The extension member 330 is substantially C-shaped in cross-section and includes a first portion 331 which is adapted to sit on top of the rim 316 of the bath 310, a second portion 332 which depends from the first portion and a return portion 333 which is contiguous with the second portion 332 and extends towards the outer surface 314a of the bath side wall 314. The upper surface 334 of return portion 333 lies beneath the rim 316 of the bath 310.

In the embodiment illustrated in solid lines in Figure 9, the return portion 333 is provided with a threaded bore 335 extending from its upper surface 334 to its lower surface 336. A screw-threaded clamping member 337 is received in the bore 335 and comprises a clamping head 338 at the upper end thereof and a tommy bar 339 at the lower end.

In use, the buttock support 320 is positioned at the desired longitudinal position in the bath 310 between its head end 311 and its foot end 312. Then the tommy bar 339 is rotated to turn the clamping member 337 in a clockwise direction in bore 335 to effect clamping of the clamping head 338 against the underside of the rim 316 of the bath 310. The tommy bar may be replaced with a knurled nut or similar provided that there is clearance for the fingers to exert the required rotational forces for clamping the buttock support sufficiently firmly to the rim 316 of the bath 310.

Alternatively, in the embodiment illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 9, the first portion 331 is provided with a threaded bore 345 extending from its upper surface 344 to its lower surface 346. A screw-threaded clamping member 347 passes through the bore 345, said clamping member 347 comprising a clamping head (not shown) at the lower end thereof and a finger grip portion 349 at its upper end.

As before, the buttock support 320 is positioned at the desired longitudinal position in the bath 310 between its head end 311 and its foot end 312. Then the finger grip 349 is rotated in a clockwise direction to effect clamping of the clamping head against the top of the rim 316 of the bath 310.

One possible disadvantage of the alternative embodiment depicted in dotted lines is that the clamping arrangement is accessible to meddling fingers.

Another alternative (not illustrated) would be to provide clamping in the horizontal direction through the second portion 332 of the extension member 330. This is less preferred because the clamping head of such a clamp would engage the outer surface of the side wall 314 of the bath 310. The side walls of baby baths are generally more flexible than the rim, so clamping against the side wall 314 may result in the buttock support 320 being held less securely than with the two alternatives discussed above.

If desired, the rim 316 of the bath 310 may be reinforced to help it withstand the clamping forces exerted by the clamping member 337 (347).

The rim of the bath need not be smooth but may be provided with surface roughness or indentations to assist in obtaining positive clamping with minimal risk of inadvertent movement of the buttock support 320.

Rather than a solid flexible extension member 330 as described above in relation to Figure 9, at least one of the extension members 330 may be provided with a hinged section which can be folded back to facilitate engagement of the extension member with the rim 316 of the bath 310.

One clear advantage of this type of arrangement is that it can be adapted to co-operate with an existing bath. There is no need for special internal formations to be moulded into the bath and, after the buttock support has been removed, the bath itself is uncluttered which is advantageous for cleaning.

Another alternative based on the basic concept of the third embodiment uses extensions formed with resilient means such as lugs or fingers that are adapted to engage with formations provided on the external walls of the bath sides.

Although the invention has been particularly described above with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that these are merely illustrative and that variations are possible without departing from the scope of the claims which follow.

Claims (15)

1. A bath having an adjustable buttock support for stably supporting the occupant in a near-supine position.

2. A bath as claimed in claim 1 wherein the buttock support is disposed transversely in the bath and extends all the way across the bath to engage with the opposing sides of thereof.

3. A bath as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the buttock support is curved to cradle the buttocks.

4. A bath as claimed in claim 3 wherein the buttock support is anatomically shaped to conform to the curvature of the buttocks.

5. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the buttock support is provided with a pair of slots for the occupant's legs, allowing them to extend beyond the buttock support towards the foot of the bath.

6. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the bottom of the bath slopes downwardly from the head end towards the foot end.

7. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sides of the bath, on their inner faces, are provided with a series of spaced grooves or recesses into which opposed ends of the buttock support are engagable by sliding.

8. A bath as claimed in claim 7 wherein the grooves slope towards the head of the bath or towards the foot of the bath.

9. A bath as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slope of the grooves relative to the vertical ranges between 0 and 600, more preferably from 10 to 500 and most preferably from 15 to 45 0.

10. A bath as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein the buttock support is sufficiently flexible that it can be bent to disengage its ends from their respective grooves.

11. A bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the bottom of the bath includes a longitudinal channel engagable by a centre portion of the buttock support.

12. A bath as claimed in claim 11 wherein the buttock support is held in place by frictional engagement with the channel and wherein the buttock support is releasable for sliding movement along the channel by manual actuation against the return force of resilient means.

13. A bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the buttock support is provided with extensions which overlap the sides of the bath and which are adapted to be releasably secured thereto.

14. A bath as claimed in claim 13 wherein the buttock support is releasably secured to the rim of the bath by screw clamping means.

1 5. A bath as claimed in claim 13 wherein the buttock support is releasably secured to the bath by resilient means.

16. A bath substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 4, Figures 5 to 7, or Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows p 1. A bath havlntadJustable buttock support for stably support tit (lie occupant in a. near-supine position wherein the buttock support is pl ovided with a pair of slots for the occupant's legs allowing them to extend beyond the buttock support towards the foot of the bath.

2. A bath as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bultock support is disposed transversely in the bath and extends all the way across the bath to engage with the opposing sides of thereof.

3. A bath as claimed In claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the buttock support is curved to cradle the buttocks.

4. A bath as claimed In claim 3 wherein the buttock support is anatemically shaped to conform to the curvature of the buttocks.

5. A bath as claimed in any preceding'claim wherein the bottom of the bath slopes downwardly from the head end towards the foot end.

6. A bath as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sides of the bath, on their inner faces, are provided with a series of spaced grooves or recesses into which opposed ends of the buttock support are elqagable by sliding.

7. A bath as claimed In claim 7 wherein the grooves slope towards üwe head of Ule bath or towards the foot of the bath.

8. A bath as claimed in claim 7 wherein the slope of the grooves relative to the vertical ranges between 0 and 60 , more preferably from 10 O Lo 50- and most preferably from 15 to 450.

9. A bath as claimed in claim 8 wherein the slope of the grooves relative to the vertical ranges between 10 and 50 .

10. A bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the bottoiwi of there bath includes a longitudinal channel engagable by a centre portion of the buttock support 11. A bath as claimed in claim 10 wherein the buttock support is held in place by frictional engagement with the channel and wherein the buttock support is releasable for sliding movement along the channel by rnanual actuation against the return force of resilient means.

12. A bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the buttock support is provided with extensions which overlap the sides of the bath and which are adapted to be releasably secured thereto.

13. A bath as claimed in claim 12 wherein the buttock support is releasably secured to the rim of the bath by screw clamping means.

14. A bath as claimed in claim 12 wherein the buttock support is releasably secured to the bath by resilient means.

15. A bath substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

Figures 5 to 7, or Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings.