US3040335A - Universal shower seat with faucet grippers - Google Patents

Description

June 26, 1962 n. GELLMANN 3,040,335

UNIVERSAL SHOWER SEAT WITH FAUCET GRIPPERS Filed June 16, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 '31 Fig.

Daniel Gel/mann WWW INVENTOR.

June 26, 1962 D. GELLMANN UNIVERSAL SHOWER SEAT WITH FAUCET GRIPPERS Filed June 16, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

Daniel Gel/mam I N VEN TOR.

BY @Mw/Ziw.

atent 3,040,335 Patented June 26, 1962 3,040,335 UNIVERSAL SHOWER SEAT WITH FAUCET GRIPPERS Daniel Gellmann, 56 W. 45th, New York, N.Y. Filed June 16, 1960, Ser. No. 36,534 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-148) The present invention generally relates to a bathing appliance and more particularly to a seat assembly adapted to be disposed within the confines of a bathtub, shower stall .or the like, the seat being employed by a person taking a shower or the like.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a seat of generally skeletonized construction having 'a shower line attached thereto together with a plurality of shower heads or spray nozzles for directing water spray onto various parts of the body while sitting on the seat.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shower seat in accordance with the preceding object having a generally L-shaped pipe thereon together with means adapting the pipe for connection to the usual shower pipe or to the usual bathtub faucet thereby providing a shower seat which is universally attached to substantially any water supply line normally provided in a bathtub or shower.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a shower seat of simplified construction which includes a skeletonized frame and a plurality of adjustable shower heads or spray nozzles orientated thereon in the most optimum positions for spraying various portions of the anatomy and especially the genital and rectal area.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a novel gripping device for attaching the shower pipe on the seat to the faucet normally provided in the bathtub.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a shower seat which is quite simple in construction, easy to use, universally adapted for various types of installations, effective for its cleansing operation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and "claimed, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the shower seat of the present invention installed within a bathtub and having the top end of the shower pipe connected to an existing shower pipe extending from the wall ofthe bathv room; 1

FIGURE 2 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2Z of FIGURE 1 illustrating the details of construction of, the mounting means for the vertical pipe on the back of the chair or seat;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the shower seat of the present invention installed in facing relation to the faucet normally provided on a bathtub;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantiaily upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 illustrating further structural details of theseat assembly; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of FIGURE 3 illustrating the details of the connection between the faucet and the flexible hose.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the shower seat of the present invention which is connected with the usual shower pipe 12 extending from the wall surface of a bath room in a conventional manner. The seat 10 is generally in the form of a chair and is disposed within the confines of a bathtub 14 although the seat may be used in a shower stall or any other enclosure of this nature. As is usual, the bathtub 14 is provided with a faucet 16, a control 18 for the hot water, a control 20 for the cold water and a control 22 for controlling the flow of water through the faucet 16 or through the shower pipe 12.

The shower seat 10 includes a pair of inverted U- shaped side rails 24 and 26 each having a generally horizontally disposed bight portion 28 and depending legs 30 which may diverge from each other and the legs 30 of one U-shaped member 24 may diverge slightly from the legs of the other U-shaped member 26.

Interconnecting the rear legs 30 is a transverse cross memberSZ spaced only slightly above the lower ends thereof and interconnecting the front legs 30* is a cross member 34 disposed at a higher elevation than the cross member 32. Extending between the bight portions 28 is a transverse cross member 36 having forwardly extending extensions 38 alongside the interior of the bight portions 28 and being secured thereto in any suitable manner. The cross member 36 and the forward extensions 38 form substantially a U-shaped member and all of the cross members 32, 34 and 36 are secured to the U-shaped members 2.4 and 216 respectively by any suitable fastening means such as welding or the like. Also, the lower end of each leg 30 is provided with a foot or cap 40 of resilient material to prevent damage to the bathtub and also to prevent slippage of the chair.

Extending upwardly from the rear corners of the U- shaped members 24 and 26 is a chair back 42 which is substantially an inverted U-shaped member having downwardly diverging leg portions 44 and a transverse or horizontal bight portion 46. Disposed on the bight portion 46 is a pair of cylindrical cushioning members 48 adapted to engage the back area of the person employing the chair seat thereby rendering the seat more com-- fortable.

Mounted on the bight portions 28 of the U-shaped members 24 and '26 are partial annular rings 50 which are secured by fastening bolts 52 or any other suitable means and the ends of the partial rings 50 are designated by the numeral 54 and are spaced from each other. The partial annular members or ring members 50 form a seat in which the central area thereof is removed. The particular configuration of the seat may be varied, that is the rear ends of the partial ring members 50 could be connected to form substantially an annular member with the front portion omitted. This construction is somewhat similar to assemblage of this nature which are employed as toilet commode seats.

Attached to the chair is a horizontally disposed shower pipe section 56 having the rear portion rigidly afiixed to the top surface of the transverse cross member 32 centrally thereof and the forward portion of the shower pipe section 15 is provided with an upwardly offset section 58 terminating in a forwardly extending section 60 extending over and rigidly secured to the central area of the transverse member 34. The outer free ends of the pipe section 60 is provided with a removable threaded cap 62 and is also provided with a shower or spray head assembly 64 that is universally swivelly attached to a nipple 66 afiixed to the pipe section 60. The pipe section 56 is also provided with a shower head 68 attached universally to a nipple 70 formed on the shower pipe section 56.

The rear end of the shower pipe section 56 is provided with an upturned threaded end 72 engaged with a threaded coupling 74 receiving a vertical pipe section 76 having a coupling 78 thereon that connects the pipe section 76 to another vertical pipe section 80 which extends above the chair back. The upper end of the pipe section 80 is connected with a coupling 82 and the coupling 82 mounts a generally U-shaped shower pipe section 84 thereon with the terminal end of the pipe section 84 having a shower head or spray assembly 36 universally adjustably mounted thereon. Also, the top edge of the U-shaped pipe section 84.is provided with a nipple 88 to which one end of a flexible pipe 90 is attached. The other end of the flexible pipe 90 is attached to the conventional and existing shower pipe 12. Actually, the usual shower head 86 is removed from the shower pipe 12, and placed on the pipe section84 and the flexible pipe 90 then is connected to the nipple 88and the shower pipe 12 for conveying water to the showerheads 86, 68 and 64.

Where the pipe section 81 intersects or passes by the bight portion 46 of the chair back 42, the chair back is provided with a rearwardly opening U-shaped clip 92 having diverging end portions 94 and concave central areas 96 for releasably gripping the vertical pipe section 80 thus retaining the pipe section 80 generally in alignment with the upturned end,72 of the pipe section 56., The shower or spray heads are of conventional construction and each includes a valving assembly 98 for cutting off the shower head completely or varying the characteristics of the spray.

When using the device as illustrated in FIGURE 1, all three shower heads or spray assemblies may be opened so that water will be simultaneously discharged over the head, towards the rectal area and towards the genital area and the forward surfaces of the body. When desired, any selective shower head may be closed by operating the valve device 98.

When there are installations not having a shower pipe, or for some reason, the shower pipe is not desired and the vertical pipe sections and shower head 86 is not desired, the vertical pipe sections 78, 8t and 34 may be re- 7 moved by disconnecting the coupling 74 and removing the pipe section 86 from the clip 92. When this is done, the cap 62 may be removed from the end of the pipe section 60 and placed on the end of the upturned end 72 as illustrated in FIGURE 4. Also, a flexible hose 100 may then be attached to the threaded end of the pipe section 60 with the other end thereof being connected to the faucet 16 by a particular type of faucet gripper generally designated by the numeral 102 and illustrated in detail in FIG- URE 5. Also, when used in this orientation as illustrated in FIGURE 3, the person employing the chair seat actually faces the faucet rather than facing away from the faucet as when used in the manner of FIGURE 1. In this form I of the invention, all of the seat structure remains the same and the shower heads 64- and 68 remain the same and are universally adjustable and individually controlled. The only modification was the reorientation of the chair so that it faces the faucet and the removal of the pipe sections above the coupling 74 which included pipe section 76, coupling 78, pipe section 80, coupling 82, pipe section 84 as well as the flexible hose 90. The cap 62 was removed from the pipe section 69 and placed on the upturned end 72 of the pipe section 56 and in lieu thereof, the flexible hose 160 was attached to the outer end of the pipe section 60.

, Referring specifically to FIGURE 5, the manner of attaching the flexible pipe to the faucet 16 is illustrated and which includes a hollow generally frusto-conical housing 1% swivelly receiving the end section 106 of the flexible pipe ltltl which is of cylindrical construction and which is provided with a peripheral flange 108 on the inner end thereof. The pipe section 106 extends through an opening 110 in the bottom-inturned flange 112 integral with the housing 164. The upper end-of the housing 104 is designated by the numeral 114 and is provided with an aperture 116 therein of sufiicient size for enabling the end of the faucet 16 to be inserted therein. Disposed inten'orly of the housing lild is a sealing material or gasket in the form of a rubberrnernber 118 havingan inturnedlower flange 120 engaging the'top surface of the bottom 112'a'nd also engaging the undersurface of the flange 103 for forming aseal for the pipe section 106. The upper end of the seal 118 is designated by the numeral 122 and frictionally and sealingly engages the periphery of the faucet 16. The resiliency of the top 112 enables the faucet 16 to be inserted through the opening 124 formed in the top 122 of the seal 113.

Extending radially inwardly through the housing 104 is a plurality of threaded clamp screws 126 threaded through the housing 194. Each clamp screw 126 is provided with a flattened end portion 128 forming a handle for rotating the screw threaded members 126. The inner ends ofthe screw threaded members 126 clampingly engage the faucet 16 above the usual peripheral rib or flange 130 formed on the discharge end of the faucet. Thus, the flexible hose is securely attached to. the faucet 16 and is sealingly attached to the faucet 16 thereby enabling the water to be readily conveyed from the faucet to the spray nozzles 64 and 68.

The present device will quite effectively serve as a therapeuticdevice and due to the universal adjustment of the spray, the spray'can be orientated to engage any desired part of the body. This also will facilitate the taking ofshowers by persons unable to stand in a bathtub or the like and is generally an extremely helpful and beneficial bath room appliance. The device may be constructed of readily available materials and is quite attractive in appearance and quite easy to maintain in a sanitary condition. I

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A shower seat comprising a skeletonized chair including a-pair of inverted U-shaped side members having depending legs terminating in spaced feet for engaging a large area of a supporting surface, transverse'rnem bers disposed below the bight portions and rigidly interconnecting the side members, a horizontal shower pipe supported centrally from the transverse members, means on the shower pipe for connectionto a source of pressurized water, a plurality of longitudinally spaced shower heads mounted on the-shower pipe for directing water upwardly, and a seat mounted on the bight portions of the inverted U-shaped side member-asaidseat including an enlarged central open :area whereby water spray may be directed upwardly therethrough into contact with a person sitting on the seat, said seat including a pair of identical partial segmental ar-c-uate members having spaced front and rear ends thereby forming a symmetrical seat thereby enabling an occupant to face in either direction, one of said nozzles being disposed forwardly of the seat for directing water upwardly and inwardly towards the lower region of a person sitting on the seat.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said chair includes an inverted U-shaped back rigidly attached to the rear upper corners of the inverted u sh-aped side members, a verticalshower pipe extending upwardly behind the seat back and having the lower 'end'communicated with the horizontal shower pipe, the upper end of the vertical shower pipe terminating in a downwardly directed shower head for discharging water spray onto the upper area of the person sitting on the seat, means for connecting the vertical shower pipe to a source of water including a nipple on the upper end of the vertical shower pipe, and a flexible hose connecting the nipple to a wall shower pipe, said vertical shower pipe forming the means of the seat back, and means anchoring the vertical shower pipe to the top of the seat back.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means on the horizontal shower pipe to connect it with a source of water includes a hose connected to the end thereof, the other end of the hose including means for detachable engagement with a faucet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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