Patent Application
20220047127
This invention relates generally to a bathing device, and more specifically, this invention relates to a hand-held bathing device that can clean human's body like taking a bath or shower without spilling water to adjacent area and the need for the person taking off clothes.
Human's body can have sweat, grease and dead skin cell over the time. People usually need to wash their body with water and sometimes together with soap to clean out the sweat, grease and dead skin cell, that is taking a bath or shower. Rinsing body with water with proper temperature also helps person to remove body heat or warm up body with proper temperature of the cleaning water. This process involves spilling lots of used water to adjacent area. Therefore, person taking a bath or shower usually needs to take off clothes and stay in an area with proper containment of spilled water, such as in a tub or in a closed showering area with water drainage. However, for people with moving constrain or disability, such as elder people or patients, sometimes it is difficult to take off clothes and enter the tub or showering area by themselves or even with the help of caregivers. Moreover, the whole bathing or showering process is usually very slow for these people, therefore they could catch cold if the temperature in the environment is not properly controlled. In addition, in circumstances where taking off clothes is inconvenient, such as person's privacy, taking a bath or shower becomes problematic.
Currently in prior arts, there is no such bathing device to help people washing their body without the requirement to take off their clothes and the requirement to go to a water contained area.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a hand-held bathing device that can clean person's body like taking a bath or shower without spilling water to adjacent area and the need for the person taking off clothes.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hand-held bathing device that can clean person's body like taking a bath or shower at any place of person's convenience or choice.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hand-held bathing device that can clean person's body like taking a bath or shower without the need to slide or rub the cleaning head on person's skin that could cause harm to person's skin and with the cleaning head being moved freely on person's body for bathing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hand-held bathing device that can clean person's body like taking a bath or shower with clean fluid at a proper temperature for the comfort of the person taking a bath.
These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by means of a bathing device for washing people's body, comprising:
In one embodiment of this invention, said suction housing is detachable on said cleaning head.
In another embodiment of this invention, said suction housing has various sizes and shapes to fit specific area and curve shape of human body.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the contact edge of said suction housing is made of soft and elastic material to ensure soft contact and vacuum seal with human body.
In another embodiment of this invention, said conduit coupled between cleaning head and waste fluid separator and reservoir is flexible and expandable, allowing free move during bathing process.
In another embodiment of this invention, said tubing coupled between said liquid pump and said liquid injection assembly is embedded inside said conduit coupled between said cleaning head and said waste fluid separator and reservoir.
In another embodiment of this invention, said vacuum pump, said waste fluid separator and reservoir, said clean fluid reservoir, said liquid pump are supported on a movable base with castors.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, said waste fluid separator and reservoir and said clean fluid reservoir are detachable on said movable base with castors.
In another embodiment of this invention, said clean fluid reservoir further comprises a liquid storage chamber, a detachable cap with connector and tubings in liquid communication with said liquid pump, an electric heating element, and a temperature indicator.
In another embodiment of this invention, said bathing device further comprises a temperature control system to control the temperature of the clean fluid within a designed range with said electric heating element and said temperature indicator.
In another embodiment of this invention, said liquid storage chamber of said waste fluid separator and reservoir is detachable and is vacuum tight by a sealable cap.
In another embodiment of this invention, said waste fluid separator and reservoir further comprises a vacuum releasing valve.
In another embodiment of this invention, said bathing device further comprises electric power sources for said temperature control system, said electrical heating element, said vacuum pump and said liquid pump.
In another embodiment of this invention, said bathing device further comprises a liquid separator/filter coupled between the outlet of waste fluid separator and reservoir and the inlet of said vacuum pump to further remove liquid entering the inlet of said vacuum pump.
In another embodiment of this invention, said control valve assembly further comprises a valve and an electrical switch, said valve closes air communication of said cleaning head with atmosphere and turns on said electrical switch simultaneously, and said valve opens air communication of said cleaning head with atmosphere and turns off said electrical switch simultaneously.
Before taking a bath with said bathing device of this invention, the operator will need to ensure the temperature of the cleaning fluid is within a proper and designed temperature range.
During the process of taking a bath with said bathing device of this invention, the operator closes said control valve in said control valve assembly to start spraying cleaning fluid onto person's body and removing said fluid with vacuum, and opens said control valve in said control valve assembly to discontinue spraying cleaning fluid onto person's body and releasing vacuum in said suction housing to facilitate free move of said cleaning head.
Further objects, advantages, construction, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, which is illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the principles described herein and are a part of the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The elements in figures are not necessarily to absolute or relative scale. Further, the elements illustrated may have a variety of different configurations.
The foregoing objects and novelty of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Methods and systems that implement the embodiments of the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment' or “an embodiment' is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present systems and methods. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present apparatus, systems and methods may be practiced without these specific details.
The term “comprising,” which is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. “Comprising” is a term of art used in claim language which means that the named claim elements are essential, but other claim elements may be added and still form a construct within the scope of the claim.
In brief, an illustrative form of the invention comprises an electric power and control system 3, a vacuum pump 4, a waste fluid separator and reservoir 5, a clean fluid reservoir 6, a fluid pump 7, a cleaning head 10, and associated filter, conduits, tubings, control valves, electric circuits etc. in the working mechanism to be described herein. Said cleaning head 10 comprises a suction housing 11, a liquid injection assembly embedded inside said suction housing 11, a control valve assembly 15, and associated fittings, connectors, tubings, electric circuits.
With electric power on, vacuum pump 4 creates a vacuum in the intake vacuum hose 41 and draws a vacuum in the chamber of waste fluid separator and reservoir 5. The inlet line of waste fluid separator and reservoir 5 is in fluid and air communication with cleaning head 10 through vacuum hose 42, joint T connector 9, and conduit 43. The vacuum in these conduits and connectors is the driving force for fluid suction in the cleaning head 10. A liquid pump 7 couples between clean fluid reservoir 6 and liquid injection assembly inside said cleaning head 10. The liquid pump 7 draws temperature pre-set clean fluid from clean fluid reservoir 6 and pump the clean fluid to liquid injection assembly and spray out to targeted area for cleaning through injector nozzle 12.
As compared to cleaning of normal surface such as floor, carpet, etc. using steam/vacuum cleaning device, taking a bath on people's body using the bathing device of this invention is different in that the cleaning head should not slide on human body skin as does on normal surface for cleaning. This is because human body skin is not as smooth and flat as normal surface like floor and carpet. More importantly, since certain people's skin is tender and sensitive, rubbing and sliding on people's skin during cleaning could hurt these people. For this reason, the operator of the bathing device of this invention uses the control valve assembly 15 on the cleaning head 10 to clean certain area of people's body section by section with no sliding and rubbing movement of the cleaning head 10. As will be described in detail later, when the operator closes the control valve 15, the device will turn on fluid injection and vacuum suction. In this mode, the clean fluid is sprayed on people's skin and the fluid is simultaneous removed by vacuum suction. When the operator opens the control valve 15, the device will turn off fluid injection and allow air to enter the suction housing 11. The air entering the suction housing 11 will release the vacuum inside the suction housing 11. When there is low vacuum in the suction housing 11, thereby low suction force with suction housing 11 open to air, the operator is able to move the cleaning head 10 to a different position without the need to sliding through the skin surface.
Referring to the schematic drawing in
The inlet or low pressure side of the vacuum pump 4 connects to the outlet of a liquid separator/filter 8 and the inlet of the liquid separator/filter 8 connects the outlet of said waste fluid separator and reservoir 5 through a flexible vacuum hose 41. The inlet of said waste fluid separator and reservoir 5 connects to one side of a joint T connector 9 through a flexible vacuum hose 42. Another side of the joint T connector 9 connects to the inlet of cleaning head 10 through a conduit 43. Yet another side of the joint T connector 9 is sealed with a cap 47, wherein the cap 47 has a union connector 48 on it. One side of the union connector 48 connects to the outlet of the fluid pump 7 through a flexible tubing 45, and the other side of the union connects to the inlet of the liquid injector assembly inside cleaning head 10 through a flexible tubing 44. The inlet of said liquid pump connects to the outlet of clean fluid reservoir 7 through a flexible tubing 46.
Referring to the schematic drawing in
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As illustrated in
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The operator can set a desired clean fluid temperature on temperature control system 32, the temperature control system 32 will control the electric heating element 65 to heat up the clean fluid to the designed temperature range, usually within 1-2 C of the set temperature. When the clean fluid temperature reaches the designed temperature range, the clean fluid temperature indicator light will be on a ready color, for example, green color. When the indicator light is on a ready color, temperature control system 32 will turn on electric power to vacuum pump 4 and turn on battery power to liquid pump 7. The operator can then use the control valve assembly 15 to control the bathing device and taking a bath. When the clean fluid level is below the temperature indicator, the temperature indicator will usually change to room temperature and usually is different from the set desired temperature, and the temperature indicator 66 will send a signal to the temperature control system 32, and the temperature control system 32 will turn off the electric power to vacuum pump and liquid pump. And the indicator light will also remind operator to add more clean fluid if further bathing is needed.
In another alternative operation method, the operator can choose to use manual method to control the power to vacuum pump 4 and liquid pump 7. Further the operator can choose to control the clean fluid temperature manually to a designed temperature range without the use of temperature control system and electric heating element.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
