Patent Application
20180028022
The invention presented herein relates generally to a device for providing support while bathing, and more particularly assisting individuals with limited, temporary, or permanent mobility disadvantages in maintaining proper foot care.
While showering or bathing is a simple daily routine for many persons, disabled individuals may find it to be physically difficult. More specifically, those with physical disabilities may be prone to slip and fall accidents or unable to properly access their lower extremities due to physical immobility issues. Generally, the increased risk is a direct result of shower or bath surfaces, such as a vinyl, porcelain or tile surface which become very slippery when wet. Often individuals may rely on assistance from other individuals, such as a family member or healthcare professional while bathing. In addition to creating anxiety with regard to showering or bathing, these individuals lose the privacy generally associated with showering or bathing, not to mention the additional cost associated with a person hired to help.
To this end, several solutions have been described, including fixed bathing supports for the individual to grab and lift their foot up on the edge. Fixed supports typically include a bar or rail that is rigidly fixed to a shower or bath wall. Unfortunately, such fixed support may require expensive and complex installation procedures, and may result in a permanent fixture that is not easily removed. This may be undesirable for a disabled person who cannot afford the associated cost, or when a person experiencing a temporary disability does not desire to install a permanent fixture. Fixed support may also lack flexibility to be rearranged for use in different circumstances. More importantly, using a fixed support and the edge of the bath creates safety issues for a disabled individual to keep their balance.
There are numerous portable or temporary supports available to address these problems. Portable shower and bathtub seats have been described, as are various foot cleaning means which do not require the use of hands. However, such bathing assistant devices are either mutually exclusive which cannot work efficiently in tandem or they are too complex to be user friendly. Others comprise multiple complex parts which make them economically impractical.
Accordingly, there is a need for a practical device capable of providing a support for persons while bathing. The present invention addresses this need using a portable support for persons while bathing that can be easily positioned in a bathing environment and that can provide a safe, secure and convenient bathing experience.
The present invention describes a portable foot support for bathing and convenient storage. Various embodiments are considered in the design of the device, but each is lightweight and portable. In one embodiment, an articulating foot-rest platform having an adjustable height is supported with 4 independent bottom pad support means each coupled to independent legs which form part of the frame. The top of the frame arches and joins two legs on one side of a foot-rest platform. The articulating foot-rest platform is functional when fully abducted from the frame and situated horizontally. The foot-rests platform can be adducted toward the frame structure and secured vertially for increased mobility in the bath and safe storage or transport when not in use.
Several embodiments for the foot-rest platform include multiple drain holes to prevent water accumulation on the platform, a non-slip surface, a padded surface, a molded heel rest, a molded leg rest, or combinations therein. The bottom pad support means are able to provide friction between the frame and bathing surface. Optionally at least one bottom pad support means includes a suction cup that can at least partially couple the portable bathing support to the shower or bathtub surface or at least one bottom pad support means that can be permanently fixed to the wall or tub fixture.
In another embodiment, the device is partially supported through the side of the tub having suction cups or other securing means to temporarily fix the frame to the side of the bathtub. Two bottom pad support means each on legs of the frame extend onto the surface of the shower or bathtub surface to provide friction between the frame bathing surface and the frame.
In another embodiment, a method is provided for the user to clean and maintain proper foot care. The method includes disposing a portable foot support in the bathtub or showering area. The portable foot support includes a frame having a foot-rest platform of sufficient height for the user to grasp the grips on the frame and place their foot onto the foot-rest platform for cleaning or other routine care while the frame provides support to maintain the balance and secure stance of the user.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
The device described in the present invention provides a system for significantly reducing the difficulty of individuals with limited, temporary, or permanent mobility disadvantages in maintaining proper foot care and overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of prior bath or shower assist devices. The objective of the present invention is to provide an elevated foot-rest platform for maintaining individual personal hygiene such as, but not limited to, care associated with the individual's feet. The device allows for simple and easy attachment and detachment from virtually any bathtub or shower or permanent attachment. The elevated foot support device can be constructed of any known compositions typically used for similar purposes provided the composition is lightweight. Appropriate compositions include plastics such as, but not limited to, thermoplastics. Polyethylene, polypropylene or other similar thermoplastic materials are considered and are versatile and high-quality plastics.
As shown in the side view of
In another embodiment the inner legs of the independent frame structures (10) curve back into the inner side of the tub wall and attach to the tub wall through a rubber grommet to prevent movement and hold the frame structure securely to the side of the tub.
The elevated foot support device is shown in a profile view in
One alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A still further embodiment of the present invention incorporates a permanent mounting means for the two independent frame structures (10) whereby all four legs are fixed to the wall of the shower to allow the foot-rest platform (15) to position upward when not in use or fold out when in-use.
The contents of the articles, patents, and patents applications and all other documents and electronically available information mentioned or cited herein, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
The terms and expressions used herein have been used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. It is recognized that various modification are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and other features, modification and variation of the invention embodied therein herein disclosed may be used by those skilled in the art, and that such modification and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/367,217, filed Jul. 27, 2016 and incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62367217 | Jul 2016 | US |
