Automatic seat for giving handicapped persons access to the water in a bath-tub

A device for enabling persons with reduced mobility to enter and leave a bath tub in a room having a ceiling and a floor, comprising:

• an upper collar;
• a lower collar having a track;
• a vertical column having a top and a bottom, said top of said column adapted to be secured to the ceiling by said upper collar and said bottom of said column adapted to be secured to the floor by said lower collar;
• jack means for holding said column under compression for making said column completely rigid;
• a support assembly mounted on said column for pivoting and vertical sliding motion, said support assembly having a back and comprising a member having first and second ends and a bend therein, a guide tube secured in said bend and having a side surface, first and second guide rings disposed in said first and second ends, respectively, of said member, a water-activated jack in fluid communication with the water tap of the bath tub and secured to said side surface of said tube, said jack having a downwardly oriented nose equipped with a female yoke, first bracket means for securing said jack to said side surface of said tube, a tight-sealing roller mounted on said female yoke of said jack and resting on said track of said lower collar, a seat supporting arm having a distal end and a proximal end, a seat supported at said distal end of said seat supporting arm, and second bracket means secured to said back of said support assembly for receiving said proximal end of said seat supporting arm, said second bracket means including locking means for adjusting the distance of said seat from said vertical column and said support assembly, whereby said seat can be lowered into the bath tub without contacting said column or said support member.