US3094711A - Portable baby's bath and cabinet unit - Google Patents

Description

June 25, 1963 F. M. KENTES 3,094,711

PORTABLE BABY'S BATH AND ."CABINET UNIT Filed April 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. C." 5 FRANCES M. KENTES ATTORN EY June 25, 1963 F. M. KENTES PORTABLE BABY'S BATH AND CABINET UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1962 S E A s 2 2 O R m 2 .l m E 7 K a m M 8 F m 2 S E 6 v M? Q\\m\\\\\\\\\\\\k N WQ IQ A L Du if 5 F 2 AT TO RN EY United States Patent r 3,094,711. PORTABLE BABYS BATH AND CABINET Frances M. Kentes, 2236 N. 39th St Milwaiikee, Wis; Filed Apr. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 190,390 1 Claim. (Cl. 4-176) This invention relates to an improvement in a combination portable bath and cabinet for babies.

The primary object of this invention is to provide as a unit, a babys bath and cabinet therefor which may be transported from one place of residence to another and utilized in connection with a bath tub of the type usually found in a home, a motel or a hotel. Obvious ly, a unit of this kind will make it more convenient for parents with babies to travel.

It is also an object to provide a unit which may he releasably hung on the wall and then opened to provide a bath or table, alternatively, for an infantarid which when closed may he removed from the wall and then carried much in the same manner asa suitcase.

Another object is to provide a unit which may he hung on the wall above the head end of a bath me, an infants bath hingedly mounted therein for positioning above the tub, the free end of the bath having a hingedly mounted supporting leg adjustable in length and the bath being adjustably mounted on the cabinet to any one of a plurality of heights suitable to the operator, the bath also having a padded table hinged to the bath adjacent the cabinet for positioning within the cabinet or across the rim of the bath.

A further object is to provide a unit of the aforesaid type which is relatively light in construction yet sturdy, simple to operate, convenient to use and which is neat in appearance when either in use or in a collapsed condition.

Still another object is to provide a. simple babys bath and cabinet unit which may he provided by a motel or a hotel when accommodating parents having an infant as guests and which may be easily removed and stored when not in use.

As the subsequent description progresses, other objects and advantages will become apparent.

In the accompanying drawings, which comprise a part of this disclosure and wherein similar reference numerals identify corresponding parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the unit with the baby 'bath in open position and the table still in the cabinet.

FIG. 2 is a view in front elevation as seen from the left relative to FIG. 1 showing the unit as it appears when the bath is within the cabinet.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the bath leg and a fragmentary portion of its mounting.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional side view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1 showing a fragmentary portion of the bath and the bath leg.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view relative to the right of FIG. 1 showing a fragmentary portion of the cabinet and bath.

FIG. 6 is a side view in elevation as seen from the right relative to FIG. 1, the upper portion of the cabinet being broken away and the tub being shown as a fragmentary section.

FIG. 7 is a front view in elevation as seen from the left relative to FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a .detail perspective view of the table shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view illustrating a type of hanger, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for the cabinet which may be attached to the wall.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional detail of the hanger and cabinet taken on the line 1010 in FIG; 7.

In the drawings, the cabinet 1 comprises a box-like 3,094,711 Patented June 25, 1963 structure having a rear wall 8, a top wall 2, side walls 3 and 4 and bottom wall 5. The top wall 2 is in effect recessed to provide a vertical rim 6 and is provided with an extensible handle 7, the detail of which is net illustrated since such is well known in the art. The sidewalls 3 and 4 are each provided adjacent the bottom wall 5 with an elongated slot 9 extending verticallyupwar d and having a plurality of notches 11, 12 and 13 in one side of the slot and spaced equidistantly relative to each other. Obviously more or less number of such slots may be provided at the discretion of the manufacturer. The rear Wall 8 is provided With three inverted T-lik aper: tures 14, 15 and 16 arranged in a triangular relation relative to each other, apertures 14 and 15 being adjacent the top wall 2 and the aperture 16 being in proximity to the bottom wall 5 midway between the side walls 3 and 4.

The apertures 14, 15 and 15 serve as opening for the reception of hangers, such as 17, 18 and 19 secured t6 the bath room will 21above the head end 22 of the bath tub 2 3 and positioned in triangular relation relative to each other correspondingto the triangular arrangement of apertures. It will be understood that the apertures and the hangers may he of any preferred design. However, in the drawings, the apertures are contoured to receive the illustrated hangers shown in greater detail in FIGS. 9 and 10. As shown, each hanger comprises a circular or oval portion 25 having a rear portion 26 of smaller diameter to provide a flanged area 27 adapted to receive the mangins of the slots in the rear wall 8, the top mar-gin 28 of the rear portion 26 being flattened horizontally and upon which the corresponding margins of the slots rest.

The faces of each of the rear portion 26 of the hangers is provided with an adhesive as indicated :by the stippling in FIG. 9 and is of a type commonly known the at. This adhesive causes the hangers to stick to the wall 21 with sufficient force to insure that cabinet 1 will be safely supported from the wall 21. The portion 26 of the hangers is slotted radially inwardly at 31 (see FIG. 9:) to accommodate the end of a screw driver (no shown) and thus enable a person to pry the hangers from the wall 21 when it is desired to remove them. Eachof the hangers 14, 15 and 16 may be provided with handle having a swivel 33 secured to the lower side ofthe' hanger. These handles may serve as supports for towels, wash rags, etc. (not shown).

The babys bath 34 comprises a rectangular frame 35 having at one end of the bath a shaft 36, rectangular in cross-section and having at each end-a pivot pin adapted to be received inthe adjacent slots 9 and notches 11, 12 or 13 and thereby serve as pivots for the bath 34. The' oppos'ite end of the bath 34 is provided with an end bar 38, rectangular in cross-section and" having hinges 40 (FIG. 4), one only being shown, pi'vb'tany supporting the bar 42 to which the leg 41 is attached intermediate the ends thereof, the hinges 40 afiording movement of the leg 41, from the vertical position supporting the free end of the bath 34, as shown in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7 to a position substantially parallel to frame 35 of the bath 34 and within the cabinetl as indicated in FIG. 2. v

The bath 34 includes a flexible container 45 having its marginal portion 46 secured to the frame 35 in any suitablemanner as by means of brads 47 or the like.

The leg 41 is extensible so that it maybe adjusted to a proper length to support one end of the baby bath 4'5 in substantially the'same horizontal plane as the opposite end of the bath. The leg 41 comprises a rod 48 secured to the bar 42 intermediate the ends thereof and slidably socketed in the' tube 49 having a cushioning foot member 50 for contact with the bottom 51 of the tub 23 or other horizontal surface. As indicated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3

o and 7, the tube 49 is provided with an elongated slot 52 extending longitudinally thereof and provided with equ distantly spaced notches 53, 54 and 55 and the rod 48 is provided with pin 56 slidable in the slot 52 and receivable in either of the notches '53, 54 or 55 alternatively.

Thus the babys bath 34 may be suspended in a horizontal position at any one of a plurality of elevations by disposing the pins 37, at the pivot end of the bath 34, in either of the notches 11, 12 or 13 and extending the leg 41 by placing the pin 56 on the rod 48 in either of the notches 53, 54 or 55 to substantially correspond with the placement of binge pins 37 in either of the notches 11, 12 or 13.

The bottom 60 of the babys bath is provided with drain hole or opening 61 (see FIG. 1) located approximately centrally of the bottom. A flexible drain hose 62 is connected with hole 61 exteriorly of the bottom. When the bath 34 is supplied with water, the hose may be curved upwardly, as shown in FIG. 6 to retain the water in the bath, the hose being retained in that position by means of clip 63 of well known construction. When it is desired to remove the water, it is only necessary to allow the hose to drop down, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 7, to permit the water to drain from the bath 34 into the tub 23.

An apron 65, shown in full in FIG. 1 and in fragment in FIG. 6, is attached to the right side of the bath relative to FIG. 1 in a suitable manner (not shown). The apron 65, as illustrated, is provided with three pockets 66, 67 and 68, the pocket 66 not being shown in FIG. 7. These pockets are designed to receive various items normally used while bathing an infant. The unit is also provided with a padded table 70 having a vertically disposed guard 71 (FIGS. 6 and 7) on the side opposite that to which the apron 65 is attached and is foldable over the table when not in use; a flexible strap 72 is attached at 73 to the guard and at 74 to the table 70 and prevents the guard 71 from falling in a counter-clockwise direction relative to FIG. 7. The strap 72 may be folded between the table 70 and guard 71 when the latter is folded over the table.

A spring 75 is provided between the guard 71 and table 70 which normally biases the guard to the upright position shoum in FIG. 8. Preferably the spring should have only sufficient strength to perform this function and yet weak enough to allow ready placement of the guard over the table. This table 70 may be hingedly mounted on the bath frame adjacent the cabinet but preferably may be freely removable from the bath 34 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and placed within the cabinet as indicated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 6, the table 70 is shown in dash dot lines in a position angling outwardly of the cabinet 1.

When the infant is about to be prepared for its bath, a supply of water is placed in the babys bath 34, the table 70 is placed over the bath 34 as above described and the infant is placed on the table and, if desired, retained thereon by means of a belt 76 secured to a central portion on the upper side of the table.

When the bath 34 and table 70 are stored in the cabinet, a resilient latch 77, of well known construction, is attached to the under side of the top 2 intermediate the ends thereof and engages end piece 38 of the frame 35 to retain the bath 34 and table 70 within the cabinet 1, pivot pins 37 on the bath frame 35 will be disposed at the lower ends of the slots 9 in the sides 3 and 4 of cabinet. When the bath is being disposed in a horizontal position the pins 37 may be allowed to rest on the lower ends of the slots 9 for supporting the hinged end of the bath or the pins may be slid upwardly in the slots and then disposed in corresponding notches, for instance, in notches 13 as illustnated in the drawings. As the bath is being swung outwardly of the cabinet, the leg 41 will swing outwardly on the pivots and when the operator has placed the hinge end of the bath at the desired height, she may then adjust the leg 41 to the proper length by sliding the tube 49 on the rod 48, thus moving the pin 56 relatively along the slot 52 to one of the notches 53, 54 or by appropriately rotating the tube 49 on the rod 48 in a direction from left to right relative to FIG. 3.

i It will be understood that in the modification illustrated, the apron will be laid over the bath 34 after removal of the table when the bath is about to be placed in the cabinet 1. If preferred, a covering such as a curtain (not shown) may be provided for the cabinet to conceal the elements therein.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I hav provided a novel unit babys bath and cabinet which may be transported from one place of residence to another, conveniently mounted on a wall at the head end of a bath tub and readied for use in bathing infants, thus making it convenient for parents to travel with infants and which may be provided by motels and hotels to accommodate parents with infants, as guests and then easily be removed and stored when not in use.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that various modifications may be made in the unit illustrated and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a portable babys bath and cabinet, said cabinet having an open front, top wall, side walls, bottom wall and rear Wall, said rear wall having supporting means for removably suspending said cabinet from the wall in a residence, said supporting means comprising three inverted T-like slots in said rear wall arranged in triangular relation with the base of the triangle adjacent and parallel to said top wall and the apex of the triangle adjacent said bottom wall, said supporting means also including three hangers detachably adherent to the wall of said residence, each slotted to receive the sides of each slot in said rear wall and, when adhering to said wall of said residence, disposed in a triangular relation corresponding to the triangular relation of said slots, whereby said cabinet may be freely mounted on or dismounted from said wall of said residence, said side walls each having adjacent said bottom wall an elongated aperture extending lengthwise of said side wall and toward said top wall and provided with a plurality of relatively spaced notches in the side thereof most remote from said rear wall; in combination with a babys bath receivable in said cabinet through said open front and having at one end a pair of pivot pins each slidable in a corresponding slot in said side wall and receivable in either of said notches in said corresponding slot, and a longitudinally extensible leg pivotally mounted on the end of said bath opposite the first mentioned end of said bath, said leg comprising two relatively telescopic members and means for securing said members against relative movement in either of a plurality of selected positions, said last mentioned means comprising a slot extending longitudinally of the outer of said members and a pin secured to the inner of said members extending into and slidable in said slot in said outer member, at least one side of said slot in said outer member having a plurality of relatively spaced notches for selectively receiving said pin, whereby said bath may be supported in a horizontal position or concealed in said cabinet at the election of the operator, said top wall having latch means for retaining said bath in said cabinet and also having a retractable handle whereby said unit may be manually transported when removed from the wall of said residence, and a flexible drain hose connected with and beneath said bath, said hose being of suflicient length and including means for suspending the free end of the hose from the rim of said bath, thereby serving as means for retaining water in the tub, said hose being of sufficient length to prevent water from splashing while draining from the tub.

Havener Aug. 13, 1929 2,902,699 Miller Sept. 8, 1959,

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