Bathtub for persons with disabilities
OwnerAlden A. Lofquist, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An accessible bathtub apparatus for persons with disabilities, including an enclosure with an elevated bed with a seat and a foot well, a door panel, a door seal, connectors operable to pivot the door panel from an open position to a closed position, and retainers that hold the door panel in the open position until released by the user. The elevated bed allows direct lateral access by the user. The bathtub can be installed in a newly-constructed or renovated bathroom. Alternatively, it can be installed on an existing conventional bathtub, thereby avoiding the necessity of removing the old tub before installing the new one. It can be used in private homes, hotels/motels, and other locations; it can be used by persons with disabilities that would otherwise preclude them from bathing unattended or unassisted.
Claims23
A bathtub, comprising:
- a floor panel;
- a wall panel attached to said floor panel, said wall panel including a head end wall, a rear side wall, and a foot end wall, said wall panel and said floor panel defining a bathtub enclosure with an opening;
- a door panel;
- means for pivotably securing said door panel to said head end wall and said foot end wall adjacent to said rear side wall of said enclosure, said securing means operable to pivot said door panel from a first position above said enclosure wherein a user can access said enclosure through said opening to a second position wherein said door panel closes said opening;
- means for sealing said door panel to said enclosure so that said enclosure is substantially water-tight when said door panel is in said second position;
- and
- retaining means operably connected to said door panel, said retaining means operable for holding said door panel in said first position.
A bathtub, comprising:
- a floor panel having a perimeter, said floor panel having a seat portion and a foot portion;
- at least one wall panel attached to said floor panel along a major portion of said perimeter so that said at least one wall panel and said floor panel form a bathtub enclosure having an access opening;
- drain means in said floor panel;
- a front panel having a front wall and two spaced-apart side walls;
- means for pivotably attaching said side walls of said front panel to said one wall panel at a location opposite said access opening, said attaching means operable to move said front panel from an open position wherein said front panel is above said enclosure to a closed position wherein said front panel closes said access opening;
- means for sealing said front panel to said enclosure so that said enclosure is substantially water-tight when said front panel is in said closed position;
- and
- means for holding said front panel in said open position, said holding means allowing a user to lower said front panel to said closed position.
A method for retrofitting a new bathtub to an existing bathtub, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a new bathtub having an enclosure with an opening, a door panel, and means for securing said door panel to said enclosure so that said door panel is movable from an open position wherein a user can access said enclosure through said opening to a closed position wherein said door panel closes said opening;
- and
- installing support means interfacing said new bathtub to said existing bathtub, said support means maintaining said new bathtub in position for use.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.