Patent Application
20130098276
This invention relates to bathrooms and bathroom fixtures. While a bathroom is considered a critical room in modern residences, in many instances, the amount of floor space in a home which is allocated to a bathroom may be quite small. In that space, there are typically multiple fixtures which receive and discharge water. For example, there is a commode, optionally a bidet. One or more sinks are typically mounted in a vanity cabinet. For whole-body hygiene, there is typically a bathtub and/or a shower.
As people age into their prime earning years, their income typically increases. As earnings increase, people typically up-grade their standard of living to reflect such increased income. One of the ways people commonly up-grade their standard of living is to up-grade their housing. One way homeowners up-grade their housing is to purchase a larger and/or better house to reflect the increased income. A common alternative is to up-grade/remodel the house they are already living in, known as remodeling. As the homeowner considers remodeling the existing house, areas that are often looked at are the bathrooms and the bedrooms.
This invention addresses up-grades in the bathroom or bedroom, specifically the area of the bathroom around and over the bath tub and the area of the bedroom around and over the bed.
A stand-alone bathtub occupies a certain fraction of the floor space in a bathroom. Typically, the space above the bathtub is generally unoccupied. In the bathroom, this invention relates particularly to the use of the space above and beside the bathtub.
Specifically, this invention relates to permanently mounting a multiple-section, cushioned platform/massage table in a wall cabinet beside and above the bathtub. Such cushioned table is mounted in the wall cabinet so as to be pivoted about a pivot mount in the wall cabinet, thus to temporarily deploy the cushioned table, as a tub cover, over substantially the entirety of the floor space occupied by the bathtub while remaining attached to the wall cabinet. The tub cover can be subsequently pivoted about the pivot mount in the wall cabinet, thus to return the tub cover to the wall cabinet for storage.
One of the up-grades in standard of living which has attracted some attention from the upwardly mobile portion of society is use of massage therapy. Typically massage therapy takes place in a commercial place of business commonly known as a massage parlor. However, for some people, it is more desirable to receive a massage in their awn home. For people who have limited mobility, the only practical place they can receive a massage is in their own home.
Conventional products available for receiving a massage in the home involve obtaining a massage table, which can permanently takes up a certain amount of floor space in the home, including the space around the massage table which must be temporarily occupied by the person administering the massage therapy.
In the alternative, it is known to bring a portable massage table into the home. In some instances such portable massage table is owned by the homeowner and is retained in the home. In other instances, a person who has been hired to administer the massage therapy may bring a massage table with him/her for use during the massage, and then take the massage table with him/her when he/she leaves at the conclusion of the massage session.
Keeping a massage table in the home involves finding a suitable location where the massage table is kept, especially when not in use. Having a person who administers the massage bring their own table means that such massage table has been laid on by a substantial number of people, which runs a risk of transmitting disease, similar to the same risk which is encountered at a commercial massage parlor. In addition, there are the issues of the effort involved in transporting the table, identifying a suitable location for setting up the table, setting up the table, and taking down the table.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a massage table which is used only by the person receiving the massage, or at least only by members of that person's family and/or selected acquaintances.
It would further be desirable to have such massage table which is readily stored in a location which occupies little if any of the conventionally-used floor space in the home.
It would still further be desirable to have such massage table readily available for use in the privacy of a bathroom or bedroom in the home.
It would yet further be desirable to have such massage table readily deployable without taking up any of the conventionally-used floor space in the home.
It would still further be desirable to have such massage table which, when deployed, is easily returned to its storage location.
It would yet further be desirable to have such massage table so stored in a storage cabinet where the existence of such massage table is concealed from casual observation until the storage location is opened for deployment of such massage table.
It would be yet further desirable to have such massage table, when deployed, cover the top of an already existing support structure in the home, such as a stand-alone tub, or a bed, as a bed cover, as a tub cover, such that the already existing support structure serves as the support, from the floor, for the massage table while the massage table is deployed.
These and other needs are alleviated, or at east attenuated, by the novel massage table structure, and methods, of the invention.
This invention provides a support platform in a wall-mounted cabinet where the platform is deployable from the cabinet, optionally onto a supporting surface, while remaining attached to the cabinet, typically for temporary use of the platform and subsequent re-storage of the platform in the cabinet during periods when the platform is not being used, or during periods when a support supporting the platform is needed for a different use. The cabinet serves to store the platform, and to restrain movement and location of the platform in typical use, while allowing for manipulation of the proximal end of the platform to disconnect the platform from the cabinet and/or to re-connect the platform to the cabinet.
In a first family of embodiments, the invention comprehends a support platform mounted in a cabinet, the support platform having a length and a width, and comprising a first proximal platform section, and a second remote platform section, the first and second sections being mounted to each other for pivotation of a proximal end of the second section with respect to a remote end of the first section, a proximal end of the first section being mounted to the cabinet for pivotation of the first section with respect to the cabinet.
In some embodiments, the proximal end of the first section is attached to an elongate shaft, the shaft extending across the width of the support platform, first and second mounting blocks being mounted inside the cabinet, on opposing sides of the cabinet, opposing ends of the shaft extending into cut-out channels in the mounting blocks such that the cut-out channels allow limited vertical and horizontal movement of the ends of the shaft in the channels.
In some embodiments, the mounting blocks accommodate limited removal of the ends of the shaft from the mounting blocks through escape slots which communicate between the cut-out channels and edges of the mounting blocks.
In a second set of embodiments, the invention comprehends a support platform mounted, as a tub cover, in a cabinet adjacent a bathtub, the tub cover having a length and a width, the bathtub having an upper tub rim extending about a water-receiving receptacle at a top of the bathtub at a given height, the cabinet being mounted to a wall facing an end of, and along the length of, the bathtub, a lower end of the cabinet being proximate the height of the top of the bathtub, the tub cover comprising a first proximal cover section, and a second remote cover section, the first and second sections being mounted to each other for pivotation of the second section with respect to a remote end of the first section, at the proximal end of the second section, the tub cover deploying from the cabinet by combined pivoting of the second section with respect to the first section while the first section pivots about the proximal end thereof with respect to the cabinet while remaining attached to the cabinet and wherein, when both the proximal section and the remote section of the tub cover are fully deployed, opposing sides of the remote and proximal sections bear on the rim of the tub and the cover extends substantially the full length of the tub.
In some embodiments, when the tub cover is fully deployed, the tub bears substantially all of the load of the tub cover.
In a third family of embodiments, the invention comprehends a support platform mounted, as a tub cover, in a cabinet adjacent a bathtub, the tub cover having a length and a width, the bathtub having an upper tub rim having a top surface, extending about a water-receiving receptacle at a top of the bathtub at a given height, the cabinet being mounted to a wall facing an end of, and facing along the length of, the bathtub, a lower end of the cabinet being proximate the height of the top of the bathtub, the tub cover comprising a first proximal cover section, and a second remote cover section, the first and second sections being mounted to each other for pivotation of the second section with respect to a remote end of the first section, at the proximal end of the second section, one or more bathtub fixtures extending above the height of the upper tub rim, the tub cover deploying from the cabinet by combined pivoting of the second section with respect to the first section while the first section pivots about the proximal end thereof with respect to the cabinet while remaining attached to the cabinet such that when both the proximal section and the remote section are fully deployed, lower surfaces of both the proximal section and the remote section bear on the rim of the bathtub, the cover comprising at least one of a cutout or a recess positioned in the cover such that such one or more bathtub fixtures extend through such cutout or recess such that there is no interference between the bathtub fixtures and the fully deployed tub cover.
In some embodiments, when the tub cover is stored in the cabinet, a remote end of the remote section is at an elevation above a highest elevation of any of the tub fixtures
In some embodiments, skid plates are mounted on opposing sides of a remote end of the remote section such that, when the support platform is being deployed from the cabinet, along the length of the bathtub, the skid plates facilitate sliding of the remote end of the tub cover along the top surface of the tub rim.
The invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction, or to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various other ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology and phraseology employed herein is for purpose of description and illustration and should not be regarded as limiting. Like reference numerals are used to indicate like components.
Referring to
Recessed wall cabinet 4 includes a cabinet frame 18, and incorporates a vertically-oriented cover receptacle 20, sized to receive tub cover 6. Left and right mounting blocks 22A, 22B are mounted to left and right uprights of frame 18 inside wall cabinet 4 at the base of receptacle 20. Blocks 22, namely 22A, 228 include receptacle slots 24 which receive the ends of a shaft or tube 26 which extends across receptacle 20, from a receptacle 24 in e.g. the left block to a receptacle 24 in the right block.
Tub cover 6 includes a proximal section 28 and a remote section 30. One end 32A of proximal section 28 is fixedly attached to shaft 26 e.g. by conventional fasteners such as screws. The other end 32B of the proximal section is attached to one end 33A of remote section 30 by one or more hinges 34.
In the embodiment illustrated in
In the alternative, and as illustrated in
Where the tub fixtures are outside the area of the tub to be covered by cover 6, no such accommodation is needed, namely no aperture 36 is needed.
Now addressing dimensions of tub cover 6, typical length for receptacle 14 is about 60 inches whereby the overall length of cover 6, from the proximal edge at 32A to the distal edge at 33B, is about 72 inches, in modern society, many people are at least 72 inches tall. Accordingly, many beds are now 80 inches to accommodate such tall people when they lie prone/down. Thus, in some instances, it is desirable that the tub cover be up to 80 inches long, in which case distal end 33B may extend beyond the distal edge of support structure 10.
Referring now to how the invention works, how the invention is used, starting with
In
At the stage of deployment depicted In
With concealment door 38 fully retracted, tub cover 6 can now be deployed over and onto the rim of the tub. Deployment is accomplished by the user grasping remote section 30 e,g, near its remote end 338 and pulling on remote section 30 to initiate movement of the remote section out of the wall cabinet. This pulling on remote end 338 initially causes rotation of the remote end about hinge 34, away from the wall cabinet, and over and beyond tub fixtures 16.
As the remote section is drawn out of the wall cabinet, gravity assists in such movement such that mote section 30 continues to rotate about hinge 34. Proximal section 28, along with shaft 26, begins rotating with respect to mounting blocks 22.
From this stage, as the deployment is continued, the person doing the deployment provides ongoing support of the hinged joinder area 44 while continuing to urge remote end 336 of remote section 30 away from wall cabinet 4. In so doing, the top surface of tub rim 12 provides ongoing support of outer edges 46A, 468 of remote section 30 as the outer edges tend to glide along the top surface of the tub rim.
Deployment includes continuing movement of remote edge 33B away from cabinet 4 as well as continuing lowering of hinged joinder area 44 toward the tub rim, rotation of shaft 26 in receptacles 24 of blocks 22, and corresponding lowering of the outer edges of both sections of the tub cover onto the tub rim.
The tub cover is fully deployed when joinder area 44 is also resting on the tub rim as illustrated in
One embodiment involves the method of installing cover 6 in cabinet 4. In such method, cabinet 4 is first installed, either on the wall surface or in a recess in the wall Blocks 22A, 228 are placed loosely in the cabinet in their designed locations. Then the cove subassembly, comprising cover sections 28, 30 and shaft 26 are laid out on the tub generally in the deployed use orientation with the ends of shaft 26 in block slots 24. The location of cover subassembly is then adjusted along the length and width of the tub for desired location relative to tub support and cover appearance. Since blocks 22 are still loose in cabinet 4, and the ends of shaft 26 are engaged in slots 24, movement of the cover at this point includes corresponding movement of blocks 24. Once desired deployed cover location is achieved, such location is held constant while blocks 22 are fixedly secured to side walls of cabinet 4 e.g. by mechanical fasteners such as nails or screws.
Even after such attachment of blocks 22 to the side walls of cabinet 4, the shaft ends can float vertically up and/or down in slots 24. Thus, little or no vertical stress is transferred to the blocks, or to cabinet 4 as the cover is deployed or re-stored. Accordingly, any stress potentially resulting from any small misalignment between any of the wall, the cabinet, the tub rim, or the cover, is relieved by movement of shaft 26 in slots 24.
In some embodiments, skid plates 50 or other interfacing contact elements are mounted on the lower surfaces of tub cover 6, at the outer edges of the tub cover sections 28, 30. Such skid plates are especially useful at the outer edges 46A, 468 at remote edge 338 of remote section 30 which typically glides on the top surface of the tub rim as the cover is being deployed. Composition and structural specifications of such skid plates are selected so as to be durable, and having a generally smooth surface which can glide readily with respect to the top surface of the tub rim. Further, such skid plates must be hard enough, and have sufficiently smooth contact surfaces, to glide easily over the top surface of the tub rim, while being softer than the composition of the top surface of the tub so as to avoid scratching the tub surface while gliding thereover. In addition, the skid plates should be relatively thin such that the soft and supple cover material on the respective sections of the tub cover still preferably deploy into direct contact with the top surface of the rim of the tub.
Thus, there can be mentioned a wide variety of e.g. polymeric materials which meet such criteria for the skid plates, for example and without limitation small sheets of rigid nylon, polyester, acrylic, polycarbonate, vinyl, and the like, as well as pliable sheets of e.g. plastic, woven or non-woven fabric, or leather. Certain multiple-layer structures are also contemplated, fabricated from materials such as mentioned above. Mention of any such polymers is recognized as mention of a large family of each such polymeric material whereby such large composition families are contemplated here.
The skid plates, while not required, are desirably deployed at the leading edge of remote section 30. As desired, such as to protect the outer surfaces of the tub cover sections at the bottom of the cover, additional skid plates may be attached to the bottom of the tub cover at locations spaced along the lengths of the respective sections of the tub cover.
In the alternative, and especially where the tub cover interferes with the tub rim substantially only at full deployment, skid plates may be omitted.
In the process of deploying tub cover 6, aperture 36 has descended, and extends about, the tub fixtures. Depending on how tall the tub fixtures are, the tub fixtures may or may not extend above the top surface of tub cover 6.
With the tub cover thus fully deployed as illustrated in
Tub cover 6 can, of course, be used for any other desired purpose in addition to, or in place of, the massage use. In such instance, especially if the use is unrelated to massage, the material selection for the layer at the top surface of the cover can be modified according to the anticipated use.
When desired, such as when the tub cover is not in use, the tub cover can be retracted, and thus returned, back into storage in its wall cabinet by essentially reversing the steps illustrated above for use in deploying the cover. Thus, the cover is lifted at hinged joinder 44, and pushed/guided back into the wall cabinet. Once the cover is fully retracted into the wall cabinet, concealment door 38 is pulled down over the opening into the wall cabinet, fully concealing the tub cover as illustrated in
As desired, any known restraining structure may be employed inside cabinet 4 to positively restrain the cover inside the cabinet during storage. There can be mentioned, for example and without limitation, a restraining strap across the front of the cover, or a capture bracket which captures an edge, or the top, of the cover.
Each section 28, 30, of the cover includes a base substrate, a layer of padding, and an outer layer. The substrate can be any material which is sufficiently strong and rigid to support the weight of a person or other object which is expected to be placed on the cover. For example and without limitation, 0.75 inch-thick plywood may be used as the substrate, or an equally strong, rigid, and durable sheet of rigid plastic or metal. The padding can be any desired padding. A wide variety of polymeric foams are available, and the particular foam can be selected by the designer according to softness/degree of cushioning desired. In order to maintain the depth of cabinet within the depth of conventional wall structures so that the full depth of the cabinet can be received into a cut-out recess in the wall, e.g. at about 3.5 inches recess depth, the padding is about 1 inch thick. However, thicker padding can be used so long as the depth of the wall cabinet, optionally the wall recess, is adjusted accordingly.
In the alternative, cabinet 4 can be designed and configured so as to be surface-mounted on the wall at the end of the tub. In such instance, the depth of the cabinet is determined on the basis of such parameters as desired thickness of the cover sections, and an acceptable dimension by which the cabinet extends out from the wall.
Given that the person/patient receiving the massage while lying on the cover is typically wearing little if any clothing, the patient's skin may be in direct contact with the outer layer of the cover. Accordingly, the outer layer of the cover is made from a material which is pleasant to the touch of the skin. Such outer layer material may be, for example and without limitation, leather or any of a variety of polymeric materials, for example the vinyls, acrylics, nylon, polyester, woven and nonwoven sheets, and combinations of same. Such outer layer may be a homogeneous single unitary layer, and may include one or more woven or non-woven layers. Such outer layer may be a composite of multiple layers, including multiple layer structures, an outer one or more of which layers can be removed and replaced at will, such as between different persons who sequentially lie on the tub cover. Thus, after a first person/patient has received massage treatment on the tub cover, one or more outer, e.g. disposable or washable, layers of the cover may be removed and replaced with a fresh, new such one or more replacement layers.
In some embodiments, an electrically-powered deployment system can be added to the cover such that the cover can be deployed, and re-stored, using such deployment system, optionally with a wireless control unit.
In some embodiments, an electrical heating unit may be incorporated into the cover below the outer layer. Such heating unit can be structured much like the heating unit of an electric blanket, along with corresponding controls, such that heat therapy can be administered at the same time that active hand-massage therapy is administered.
In addition, any known massaging device such as vibrators and the like, including electrically-powered such massaging devices, which are known, can be administered to the patient, either by an attendant or by the patient, himself, while the patient is lying on the tub cover.
As to the use of any of the electrically-powered devices, suitable power supplies, cords, and the like are included in the structure of the cover, fed from power sources typically at near, or in, the wall cabinet, optionally on the tub support.
Pivoting of the proximal section, using shaft 26 mounted in blocks 22 is only one way of mounting end 32A of the proximal section to wall cabinet 4. Such pivotation can as well be accomplished by mounting the proximal end 32A to e.g. one or more hinges, including use of springs and/or air shocks to assist with the gravity load as the tub cover is being deployed and/or stored into its wall cabinet. Such mounting assistance items are typically mounted to the inner-facing surfaces of cabinet frame 18.
Similarly, any mounting of proximal section 28 to frame 18 can be assisted with torsion springs or air shocks/struts at end 32A, which provide resistance to the force of gravity/weight of the tub cover, as the tub cover is deployed.
Given conventional sizing of mass-produced tubs, tub covers of the invention are contemplated to be sized to fit respective tubs over which they are to be mounted. As desired, the tub cover can be longer than the tub so long as the remote end has sufficient support Where the overhang is rather short such as a few inches, the existing support from the tub rim may be sufficient. Where the overhang is great enough that additional support is needed, an adjacent or attached structure may provide such support. Where no such support is available, legs 48 can optionally be employed on cover 6 so as to provide a desired level of support.
A fully-continuous surface has been illustrated in the drawings for tub covers of the invention. The invention recognizes that various surface configurations are known for massage tables. For example, one end of the table may be temporarily raised to raise either the head end or the foot end of the table while the patient is being treated/massaged. Accordingly, mechanical features can be added to the remote section, and the remote section can be suitably hinged to the proximal section, such that the distal end of remote section 30 can be raised up to an angle of e.g. at least 50-60 degrees with respect to the underlying support of e.g. the tub rim.
Further, massage covers of the invention may have a recess or aperture in the portion of the massage cover which supports the patient's head, so as to introduce certain massage therapies to the patient's head through such recess or aperture. While either end of the massage cover can be so structured to support the patient's head, patients typically prefer to lie with the head away from the wall cabinet. Accordingly, such head treatment features are typically located in the remote section.
The contemplated use is as a massage table, where massage therapy can be given in the privacy of the bathroom in the user's home. Such massage therapy may be engaged in for pleasure, for muscle relaxation, including for medical purposes. It is contemplated that tub covers of the invention are useful as massage tables, among other places, in the home, in assisted living facilities, in nursing homes, in hotel rooms, and the like.
While wall cabinet 4, and the corresponding tub cover, have been illustrated at the head end of the tub, such can as well be mounted, supported at the opposite foot end of the tub in instances where a wall is available to support the cabinet.
A similar cabinet, containing a similar 2-piece cover, can be mounted to/in the wall at the head of a bed in a bedroom. In such instance, the bed serves as the support structure supporting the deployed cover. The need for such cover over a bed, rather than using the bed, itself, as a massage table, is that massage therapy relies on a firmer support/table than a mattress.
In the instance of the use of such deployable cover over a bed, cabinet 4 is mounted to/in the wall at the head of the bed. Installation is much the same as over the tub. Deployment and re-storage are accomplished similarly to the deployment, and re-storage in the bathroom over the tub.
In a somewhat different use, cabinet 4, containing cover sections 28, 30, joined to each other by hinge 34, is mounted to the wall beside the head of the bed in a bedroom of a non-ambulatory patient. Retractable or foldable legs 48 are mounted to the respective corners of sections 28, 30. Sections 28, 30 are deployed as a generally self-supporting platform, while still connected to cabinet 4 through shaft 26. The cabinet is mounted very close to the bed such that the patient can be rolled onto the self-supporting platform while an attendant changes bedding on the bed, or while the attendant otherwise attends to needs which require the patient to be off the bed.
In such instance, the self-supporting platform remains attached to cabinet 4 through shaft 26, the ends of which extend into slots 24 of blocks 22.
In all embodiments of the invention, the section 28 is attached to cabinet 4 through shaft 26. However, cabinet 4 supports only minimal, trivial amounts of the weight of the deployable platform/cover.
Once the attachment between cabinet 4 and shaft 26 has been established through slots 24 and blocks 22, and the cabinet has been installed in/on the wall, cover/platform 6 can be temporarily detached from cabinet 4 by lifting shaft 26 until the ends of the shaft exit slots 24. Then with the shaft still thus lifted, the platform/cover is moved away from the cabinet far enough that lowering shaft 26 does not drop the ends of the shaft into slots 24, whereupon the platform/cover can be moved to any desired location. However, in such instance, the platform/cover still relies on having an underlying support, whether another support structure such as tub support structure 10 or legs 48 in sufficient structure and quantity to support the entire length of cover/platform 6.
Then, even after such detachment of cover/platform 6 from cabinet 4, the cover/platform can again be stored, concealed in cabinet 4 by re-inserting the ends of shaft 26 into slots 24, and lifting the platform/cover 6 at hinged joinder 44 and collapsing the platform/cover into the cabinet, and closing door 38.
Although the invention has been described with respect to various embodiments, it should be realized this invention is also capable of a wide variety of further and other embodiments within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Those skilled in the art will now see that certain modifications can be made to the apparatus and methods herein disclosed with respect to the illustrated embodiments, without departing from the spirit of the instant invention. And while the invention has been described above with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is adapted to numerous rearrangements, modifications, and alterations, and all such arrangements, modifications, and alterations are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.
To the extent the following claims use means plus function language, it is not meant to include there, or in the instant specification, anything not structurally equivalent to what is shown in the embodiments disclosed in the specification.
This Application is a Non-Provisional of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/550,000, filed Oct. 21, 2011, the preceding application being herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61550000 | Oct 2011 | US |
