Bathtub having sliding access door for the disabled and elderly

Abstract

A bathtub has a doorway in a sidewall thereof. A door is slidably mounted to guides on guide followers mounted to both the door and the guides. The guide followers carry the door along a substantially horizontal translation along the sidewall between open and closed positions. A releasable latch and cooperating latch actuator is mounted to the door for releasable latching engagement of the door when in a watertight sealed engagement in the doorway, and for releasing the door from such engagement upon actuation by a user of the latch actuator into its release position. A passive hydrostatic seal is mounted so as to be sandwiched between the door and the doorway doorframe when the door is closed.

Claims

1. A bathtub for the disabled or elderly comprising: a tub having an enclosure defined by at least one sidewall, said sidewall having a doorway therein defined by a doorframe, said doorway providing access from an external side of said sidewall, external to said enclosure, into said enclosure, at least one generally horizontal elongate vertically spaced apart pair of elongate guides in said sidewall, a door slidably mounted to said guides on guide followers mounted to both said door and at least one of said guides for guiding substantially horizontal translation of said door along said sidewall between a closed position wherein said door is releasably lockably mounted within said doorway adjacent said doorframe, and an open position clear of said doorway and substantially parallel to said sidewall, a releasable latch and cooperating latch actuator for releasable latching engagement of said door in said closed position and for releasing said door from such engagement upon actuation of said latch actuator into a release position by a user, a passive hydrostatic seal mounted between said door and said doorframe when said door is in said closed position, wherein said seal is resilient and includes a resilient-walled concavity extending substantially around a circumference of said door and corresponding circumference of said doorframe so as to dispose an elongate opening of said concavity inwardly into said doorway and open to water pressure from water in said enclosure whereby, when said door is in said closed position, the water pressure bears against said seal and urges said concavity to resiliently deform against said doorframe and said door to form a watertight sealed engagement between said door and said doorframe.

2. The bathtub of claim 1 wherein said guides each have an arcuate path and said guide followers are rollers mounted to said door, said rollers rotatably mounted for both rolling along said guides and for rotation about vertical axes of rotation so as to follow said arcuate paths.

3. The bathtub of claim 1 wherein said latch actuator includes at least one substantially horizontal first latch member pivotally mounted to said door and cooperating with a substantially vertical second latch member of said releasable latch for vertical urging of said second latch member into latched engagement with a latch member female receiver in said doorframe so as to releasably engage said door with an edge of said doorway upon closing of said door into said closed position.

4. The bathtub of claim 3 wherein said first latch member is a lever which at a first end is pivotally mounted to said door for reciprocating actuation by the user, and which at its opposite second end is pivotally mounted to said second latch member, and wherein said second latch member includes at least one latch drive arm mounted to said door for reciprocating sliding into and out of releasably latching engagement with said female receiver.

5. The bathtub of claim 4 wherein said lever is horizontal and wherein said at least one latch drive arm is a rigid vertical drive arm mounted at a lower end of said second latch member for the selective driving of a distal lowermost end of said arm into said female receiver, and wherein said female receiver is an aperture in a lower portion of said doorframe.

6. The bathtub of claim 5 wherein said lever is horizontally disposed across an upper portion of said door so as to extend from and lateral side of said door to an opposite lateral side of said door.

7. The bathtub of claim 1 wherein said hydrostatic seal is U-shaped so as to have a bottom portion extending along a lowermost portion of said doorframe and door when in said closed position, and so as to have upright portions extending contiguously upwardly from said bottom portion, the resilient-walled concavity being formed by said bottom portion and upright portions.

8. The bathtub of claim 7 wherein said concavity is, in cross section, substantially V-shaped.

9. The bathtub of claim 8 wherein said seal is mounted to said door.

10. The bathtub of claim 9 wherein said seal has a free edge around a circumference thereof, and wherein said free-edge is reinforced with a bead therealong.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1, is in front perspective view, a bathtub incorporating the door according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2a, is front elevation view, the door of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 2b, in plan view, the door of FIG. 2a.

(4) FIG. 2c, in right side elevation view, the door of FIG. 2a.

(5) FIG. 3 is, in left side perspective view, the door of FIG. 2a.

(6) FIG. 4 is, in right side perspective view, the door of FIG. 2a.

(7) FIG. 4a is, in right side perspective view, the door of FIG. 4 partially cut away to show the upper guide track.

(8) FIG. 5 is, in rear elevation view, the door of FIG. 2a.

(9) FIG. 6 is, in left side rear perspective view, the door of FIG. 5.

(10) FIG. 7 is, in right rear perspective view, the door of FIG. 5.

(11) FIG. 8 is, in partially cut away enlarged view, the door of FIG. 6.

(12) FIG. 9 is, in perspective view, the portion of the lower guide track adjacent the doorframe opening into the bathtub enclosure.

(13) FIGS. 10a-10c are, in partially cutaway plan view, a sequential progression of the door of FIG. 2a in, respectively, a closed position, a partially open position, and a fully open position.

(14) FIG. 11 is, in partially cut away enlarged view, a segment of the door seal sandwiched between the door and doorframe of FIG. 10a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(15) In the accompanying FIGS. 1-11 similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view. As seen in those Figures, a tub 10 has an enclosure 10d defined by at least one sidewall 10a. The sidewall 10a has a doorway or opening 10b therein defined by a doorframe 10c. A door 14, when closed, provides a watertight seal for the corresponding opening. The door releasably locks into its closed sealed position within the bathtub doorframe opening by translating in direction A into its closed position from its open position parallel to, and along side so as to be adjacent, bathtub sidewall 10a. In the embodiment illustrated, which is not intended to be limiting, door 14 is slidably mounted to guides or guide channels 18 and 22 formed in guide channel members 20a and 20b and translates along the guide channels on guide followers such as so-called caster-style wheels or rollers 16a and 16b.

(16) Guide channel members 20a and 20b are aligned longitudinally so as to align the dog-leg end 18a with channel 18. Thus, with roller 16a mounted in channel 18, and with roller 16b mounted in channel 22, door 14 may be translated from its open position with rollers 16a and 16b in their fully open position in ends 18b and 22b in channels 18 and 22 respectively, to its closed position with rollers 16a and 16b parked in the opposite ends 18a and 22a of channels 18 and 22 respectively. Thus as door 14 translates in direction A rollers 16a and 16b correspondingly translate along channels 18 and 22, and door 14 transitions from its open position parallel to side 10a of bathtub 10 to its closed position inset into opening 10b defined by doorframe 10c. Rollers 16a and 16b are diverted from a strictly linear path by dog-leg portions 18c and 22c of channels 18 and 22. Dog-leg portions 18c and 22c in guides 18 and 22 define an arcuate path and translate door 14 into the doorframe 10c in direction B once the door is aligned with opening 10b. The dog-leg portions maintain the door parallel to side wall 10a as the door slides in both directions A and B so as to inset the door into doorframe 10c.

(17) With door 14 seated within bathtub opening 10b and door frame 10c, that is, in its closed and sealed position, a lower, vertically aligned pin 24a in door 14 aligns vertically over a corresponding aperture 26 in guide channel member 20a, adjacent end 18a of guide channel 18. Pin 24a extends rigidly downwardly and coaxially with a linear locking bar 28. Pin 24a together with the locking bar 28 forms a releasable latch which is actuated by a cooperating latch actuator. Locking bar 28 is mounted so as to extend substantially vertically between parallel horizontal upper and lower door members 14a and 14b. Locking bar 28 is mounted for vertically reciprocating movement in direction C, vertically oppositely disposed pins 24a and 24b being slidably journalled in corresponding apertures in door members 14a and 14b.

(18) In one embodiment, the cooperating latch actuator comprises a substantially horizontal first latch member such as a cross bar or lever 30. As shown in the figures, lever 30 is pivotally mounted at its opposite ends 30a and 30b to the upper ends of vertical door member 14c and a second latch member, respectively. In one embodiment, the second latch member is the locking bar 28. Thus end 30a may be pivoted in direction D relative to doorframe member 14c so as to reciprocate in a substantially vertical trajectory E opposite end 30b of cross bar 30, thereby vertically correspondingly reciprocating locking bar 28 in direction C. The locking bar comprises a latch drive arm mounted at a lower end thereof. When a user actuates the lever 30, the latch drive arm slides in and out of a latch member female receiver. In the illustrated embodiments, the latch drive arm is the pin24a which slides in and out of the aperture 26.

(19) As door 14 is translated in direction A into its closed position within opening 10b and doorframe 10c, upper and lower horizontally extending pins 32a and 32b mounted to, so as to extend horizontally inwardly into opening 10b from, doorframe member 34a, mate into corresponding apertures 36a and 36b in vertical door member 14c. Pins 32a and 32b may have, as illustrated, frusto-conically shaped distal ends so as to initially engage and then guide apertures 36a and 36b into snug mating engagement against the corresponding base portions of pins 32a and 32b as door 14 translates into its fully seated position and as pin 24a comes into alignment with aperture 26.

(20) The upper end of vertical door member 14d is maintained in a vertical aspect during translation of the door between its open and closed position, thereby assisting in maintaining the entire door vertical as it translates along the lower dog-legged channels 18 and 22, by an upper guide roller 38. Guide roller 38 is rotatably mounted to the corner of the door formed by the upper end of member 14d and the corresponding end of member 14a. Guide roller 38 follows along and within an inverted guide track 40. Inverted guide track 40 has a guide channel 42 formed therein which is substantially a mirror image of guide channel 18 in guide channel members 20a and 20b. Thus, as the lower corner of door 14 supported on roller 16a snugs door 14 into its closed position within door opening 10b and doorframe 10c, guide roller 38 also simultaneously snugs the upper end of door 14 into a correspondingly closed position within door opening 10b and door frame 10c. In particular, the dogged leg portions of guide channels 18, 22 and 42 draw door 14 along a parallelogram path so that, door 14 is maintained parallel to side 10a of bathtub 10 while smoothly bringing passive hydrostatic seal 44 into sealing engagement against doorframe 10c as door 14 is translated in direction B into its fully closed and sealed position. In one embodiment, the seal 44 is mounted to the door 14.

(21) Hydrostatic seals 44 are in the preferred embodiment formed by a single unitary U-shaped flexible seal. In cross section the seal is formed so as to be generally concave. As illustrated, the concavity is V-shaped; formed in the acute angle between a pair of substantially planar resilient flanges 46 and 48 respectively which intersect along a single common vertex 50. Vertex 50 is formed along the outside perimeter of the U-shaped seal. Thus the vertex is linear along the two upright portions of the U-shaped seal and also linear along the horizontal bottom portion. The upright portions and bottom portion are contiguous. Although seal 44 is illustrated as having a V-shape concavity, it is understood that the present invention is not so limited in that concavities having different cross sectional shapes will also work. Such other concavities will work so long as the concavity is formed so as to be disposed, that is open, inwardly from around the perimeter of door 14 so that water pressure from water within the tub presses against the inside surface of the concavity in direction F thereby forcing the resilient sides of the concavity outwardly against the door and the surface of doorframe 10c so as to increase the sealing of the watertight seal. In other words, the concavity extends substantially around a circumference of the door 14 and corresponding circumference of the doorframe 10c. In one embodiment the distal edge 46a of resilient flange 46, that is the linear edge cantilevered outermost from vertex 50, is reinforced by a thickened bead 52 running along the length of distal edge 46a.

(22) One advantage of using passive hydrostatic seal 44 is to minimize the shearing forces acting on the seal material, that is, as the door snugs finally into its closed position in direction A and the seals partially compress against the doorframe. In applicant's experience, such shearing of for example tubular seals such as found in the prior art degrades the seal over time thereby increasing the risk of water leaking through the seal and escaping from the bathtub. With the use of passive hydrostatic seals 44, door 14 does not form the watertight seal by mere compression, that is, crushing of the seal against the doorframe, but rather the door is positioned merely so as to engage edge 46a of resilient flange 46 against the doorframe 10c while deliberately leaving concavity 54 open to water pressure acting in direction F. Thus, as door 14 translates along the final portion of closed position ends 18a and 22a of guide channels 18 and 22 respectively, flange 46 of seal 44 is only dragged over the surface of doorframe 10c by a relatively short distance thereby minimizing the build-up of shearing stress applied to seal 44. Once water is filled into the tub so that the water presses in direction F along the length of the seal against the concavity, the seal flanges sandwiched between the door and doorframe are urged outwardly against the door and doorframe.

(23) As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.