Bottom plate for bathtub with chair and elevating / lowering device thereof

Abstract

To provide a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair, for enabling a bathing person to comfortably perform bathing with a simple constitution.SOLUTION: A bottom plate 10 for a bathtub with a chair includes: a rectangular bottom plate body 11 to be elevated / lowered inside a bathtub 50; a chair 60 having a seat part 61 and a backrest part 62; and a support part arranged on an upper surface of the bottom plate body 11 so as to rotatably support the chair 60 around a rotation axis R extending in a vertical direction. The chair 60 is rotated between a direction where the backrest part 62 is opposed to a long side 11a of the bottom plate body 11 and a direction where the backrest part 62 is opposed to a short side 11b of the bottom plate body 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a base plate for a bathtub with a seat and a lifting device thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] A known conventional bathing device is a lifting bathing device in which a bottom plate that moves up and down using a lifting device is placed inside the bathtub, and the bather is placed on the bottom plate together with his or her wheelchair at the raised position, and the bottom plate is then lowered to allow the bather to take a bath (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The lifting bathing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is designed for elderly people or people requiring care to take a bath in a wheelchair. Therefore, when taking a bath without using a wheelchair, the bather's posture is likely to become unstable when the bottom plate is raised and lowered, and the bather may not be able to bathe in peace.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a device that allows a bather to move from the bathroom washing area to the bathtub while sitting on the seat, but the device has a complex configuration, which results in high manufacturing costs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-290414 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6714182 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair and a lifting device for the same that have a simple structure and allow bathers to bathe in peace of mind. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair, which comprises a rectangular bottom plate body that can be raised and lowered in a bathtub, a chair having a seat portion and a backrest portion, and a support portion provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate body that supports the chair so that it can rotate around a rotation axis extending vertically, wherein the chair can rotate between a direction in which the backrest portion faces the long side of the bottom plate body and a direction in which the backrest portion faces the short side of the bottom plate body.

[0008] In this base plate for a bathtub with a chair, it is preferable that the chair is supported by the support portion so that the seat portion and the backrest portion can rotate integrally around a horizontal axis.

[0009] It is preferable that the chair is supported by the support portion so that the front end of the seat part extends beyond the long side of the base plate body when the backrest part faces the long side of the base plate body. Furthermore, it is preferable that the chair is supported by the support portion so that the front end of the seat part can reciprocate between a position where the front end of the seat part extends beyond the long side of the base plate body and a position where the front end of the seat part does not extend beyond the long side of the base plate body when the backrest part faces the long side of the base plate body.

[0010] In addition, the above-mentioned object of the present invention is achieved by a lifting device for a bottom plate for a bathtub with chairs, which comprises the above-mentioned bottom plate for a bathtub with chairs and a lifting device main body for raising and lowering the bottom plate for a bathtub with chairs. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair and a lifting device thereof that have a simple configuration and allow the bather to bathe in peace of mind. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a lifting device having a bottom plate for a bathtub with chair according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of FIG. [Diagram 3]2 is an exploded perspective view showing another main part of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing still another main part of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state after the main part shown in FIG. 4 is actuated. [Figure 9] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the bottom plate for a bathtub with chair shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a side view showing a modified example of the bottom plate for the bathtub with chair shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a side view showing another modified example of the bottom plate for the bathtub with chair shown in FIG. [Figure 12] 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a lifting device having a bottom plate for a bathtub with chair according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a plan view of FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 13 is a plan view of a lifting device having a bottom plate for a bathtub with chair according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 15] 13 is a side view of a main portion of a bottom plate for a bathtub with chair according to still another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 16 is a plan view of a lifting device having the bottom plate for a bathtub with chair shown in FIG. 15. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a lifting device for a bottom plate of a bathtub with a chair (hereinafter, simply referred to as "lifting device") according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lifting device shown in Fig. 1, with a part cut away.

[0014] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the lifting device 1 comprises a bottom plate 10 for a bathtub with a chair, a lifting device main body 20 for raising and lowering the bottom plate 10 for the bathtub with a chair, and a storage section 30 for accommodating the lifting device main body 20, and can raise and lower the bottom plate 10 for the bathtub with a chair inside the bathtub 50.

[0015] The bottom plate 10 for a bathtub with a chair comprises a rectangular bottom plate body 11, and a first engaging portion 12 and a second engaging portion 13 provided on both sides of the bottom plate body 11. The bottom plate body 11 is formed in a flat plate shape, and a chair 60 is provided on the upper surface side. The rectangular shape of the bottom plate body 11 is not necessarily limited to a perfect rectangle, and may be, for example, a shape with rounded or chamfered corners, a shape with a slight taper to become narrower, or a shape with slightly curved sides. The chair 60 comprises a seat portion 61 on which a bather U can sit, and a backrest portion 62 that supports the back of the bather U on the support surface 62a side, and is supported by a support portion described later so as to be freely rotatable around a rotation axis R extending in the vertical direction. The seat portion 61 is formed in a flat plate shape, but its shape is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, formed in an arc shape so as to be convex downward. The chair 60 can be rotated 90 degrees from a direction in which the backrest 62 faces the long side 11a of the base plate body 11 as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 1 to a direction in which the backrest 62 faces the short side 11b of the base plate body 11 as shown by the solid line in Fig. 1. It is preferable that the rotation range of the chair 60 is restricted to about 90 degrees by a stopper or the like.

[0016] 1, the first engagement portion 12 and the second engagement portion 13 are provided at two locations (four locations in total) near both ends of the long side edges on both sides of the bottom plate body 11. The first engagement portion 12 and the second engagement portion 13 are both made of cylindrical rollers, with their rotation axes disposed along the long side edges and supported for free rotation.

[0017] 2, bathtub 50 has an inner wall 51 and an outer wall 53 connected at upper edge 52. A gap is formed between inner wall 51 and outer wall 53 along the entire periphery, and this gap forms space 31 of storage section 30. Space 31 stores lifting device main body 20, which will be described later.

[0018] The space 31 of the accommodation section 30 is defined by an inner wall 51 on the side facing the inside of the bathtub 50. The space 31 is preferably an enclosed space to prevent water from entering, but a part of it that does not get wet may communicate with the outside of the outer wall 53. Partition members 40 are provided on the inner wall 51 at locations (a total of four locations shown in FIG. 1) that correspond to the first engagement portion 12 and the second engagement portion 13 of the bathtub base plate 10 with chair.

[0019] 3, the partition member 40 has a frame 42 on the periphery of a strip-shaped sheet body 41 extending vertically, and the frame 42 is fitted into a cutout 54 formed in the inner wall 51 of the bathtub 50 so that the partition member 40 covers the cutout 54 in a watertight manner. The partition member 40 only needs to be provided over the entire range of movement in the vertical direction of the first engagement part 12 and the second engagement part 13 caused by the elevation and lowering of the bathtub base plate 10. In this embodiment, the partition member 40 is provided from the lower part of the side of the inner wall 51 to the upper edge 52, but it is also possible to provide it only on the side of the inner wall 51.

[0020] The sheet body 41 is loosened so that it can deform as the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 rises and falls. To facilitate deformation, the sheet body 41 is preferably made of an elastically deformable material, and can be made of, for example, a rubber material such as silicone rubber or fluororubber. The front and back surfaces of the sheet body 41 may be coated to reduce the coefficient of friction.

[0021] The lifting device body 20 is disposed on both sides of the short side of the bathtub base plate 10 in the storage section 30, and in FIG. 2, one of the lifting device bodies 20 is shown in its entirety exposed by cutting out a part of the front side of the storage section 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the lifting device body 20 has a known pantograph-type mechanism, and a base section 21 and a movable section 22 extending parallel to each other in the horizontal direction are connected by a pair of connecting members 23, 24 that cross each other. The base section 21 and the movable section 22 are rail-shaped members with a U-shaped cross section that extend along the long side edge of the bathtub base plate 10, and guide rollers 231, 241 provided on one end of the connecting members 23, 24 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate along the base section 21 and the movable section 22, respectively.

[0022] The pair of connecting members 23, 24 are rotatable relative to one another at a rotating part 25, and the movable part 22 can be moved up and down by moving the guide roller 231 back and forth along the base part 21 by operating an actuator 26 such as a hydraulic cylinder. The lifting and lowering stroke of the movable part 22 is, for example, about 45 cm±20 cm, and the movable part 22 can be stopped at any height position.

[0023] Support parts 27 that support the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 are provided near both ends on the upper surface side of the movable part 22 at positions corresponding to the first engagement part 12 and the second engagement part 13 of the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10. The support parts 27 are made of cylindrical rollers, and are supported so that their rotation shafts are arranged along the long side edges of the bottom plate body 11 and are rotatably supported.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the accommodation section 30 of the lifting device 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the first engagement section 12 is disposed above the support section 27, and the second engagement section 13 is disposed inside the support section 27. The first engagement section 12 and the second engagement section 13 sandwich the partition member 40 between themselves and the support section 27.

[0025] Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the main part of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side view of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of Fig. 6. To facilitate understanding of the configuration, the partition member 40 is omitted from Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. As shown in Figs. 5 to 7, the first engagement portion 12 and the second engagement portion 13 have their axial centers rotatably supported via bearings (not shown) on a flat bracket 14 that protrudes outward from the long side edge of the bottom plate main body 11.

[0026] 6, tapered portions 12a, 12a that taper from both ends of the first engaging portion 12 toward the center are formed on both axial sides of the first engaging portion 12, and a reduced diameter portion 12b that is smaller in diameter than the adjacent tapered portions 12a, 12a is formed in the center of the rotation axis direction of the first engaging portion 12. The second engaging portion 13 is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole.

[0027] The support portion 27 is rotatably supported at both axial ends via bearings (not shown) by a pair of standing pieces 28a, 28a that stand up from a base portion 28 fixed to the upper surface of the movable portion 22. As shown in Fig. 6, tapered portions 27a, 27a that taper from both ends of the support portion 27 toward the center are formed at positions where the support portion 27 faces the tapered portions 12a, 12a of the first engagement portion 12, and an expanded diameter portion 27b that is larger in diameter than the adjacent tapered portions 27a, 27a is formed at the center of the support portion 27 in the rotation axis direction. The expanded diameter portion 27b and the reduced diameter portion 12b engage with each other in the radial direction via a partition member 40 shown in Fig. 5.

[0028] In the lifting device 1 having the above configuration, when the movable part 22 is lowered by the actuator 26 (see FIG. 2) from a state in which the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 is in the raised position as shown in FIG. 4, the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 supported by the movable part 22 is lowered to the lowered position as shown in FIG. 8. While the movable part 22 moves between the raised position and the lowered position, the first engaging part 12 and the second engaging part 13 maintain the state in which the partition member 40 is sandwiched between them and the support part 27 due to the deformation of the partition member 40.

[0029] Fig. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the bottom plate 10 for a bathtub with a chair shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the bottom plate 10 for a bathtub with a chair is provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate body 11 and has a support part 70 that supports the chair 60 rotatably around a rotation axis R extending in the vertical direction.

[0030] The support section 70 includes a base plate 71 and a pivot connection section 72 that pivotally connects the base plate 71 and the bottom plate main body 11. The base plate 71 is provided with a pair of mounting sections 71a, 71a that stand upright on both sides in the horizontal direction, and the chair 60 is pivotally attached between the pair of mounting sections 71a, 71a via a horizontal shaft 63. The chair 60 has a backrest section 62 fixed to the seat section 61, which is unlocked by operating a release lever (not shown), allowing the seat section 61 and the backrest section 62 to pivot integrally around the horizontal shaft 63.

[0031] In the chair 60 shown in Fig. 9(a), the support surface 62a of the backrest 62 faces the long side of the base plate body 11, which corresponds to the direction of the backrest 62 shown by the dashed line in Fig. 1. In this state, a bather can sit on the chair 60 from outside the bathtub 50, such as in a washing area.

[0032] Next, when the chair 60 is rotated 90 degrees around the rotation axis R in the direction of the arrow, the support surface 62a of the backrest 62 faces the short side 11b of the base plate body 11, as shown in Figure 9(b). This allows the bather's entire body, including his / her legs, to be positioned directly above the base plate body 11.

[0033] Next, as shown in FIG. 9(c), a release lever (not shown) is operated to release the engagement between the lock pin 64 on the seat 61 and the engagement part 65 on the base plate 71, thereby rotating the chair 60 around the horizontal axis 63 in the direction indicated by the arrow. This causes the seat 61 to tilt, lifting the thighs of the bather and reclining the backrest 62, making the bather's posture more comfortable. To promote the rotation of the chair 60 around the horizontal axis 63, a spring member 66 may be interposed between the seat 61 and the base plate 71. The seat 61 may be formed in a downwardly convex arch shape so that the bather's buttocks can sink into it, thereby enhancing the relaxing effect.

[0034] Thereafter, by lowering the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 to the lowered position shown in Fig. 8, the back side of the backrest portion 62 slides along the inner wall 51 of the bathtub 50, allowing the bather to take a bath. In this way, the chair-attached bathtub bottom plate 10 of this embodiment eliminates the risk of the bather becoming unstable from the time he or she sits on the chair 60 until he or she begins to bathe, allowing the bather to take a bath in peace.

[0035] The structure of the chair 60 is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the mounting parts 61a, 71a provided so as to protrude from the center of the seat part 61 and the support plate 71 are connected to each other via a horizontal shaft 63, so that the chair 60 can be rotated at the center of the seat part 61 as shown in FIG. 10(b). With this configuration, when the chair 60 is tilted, the amount of protrusion of the backrest part 62 backward can be suppressed, so that it is easy to prevent the backrest part 62 from interfering with the bathtub 50 when the bottom plate main body 11 is lowered. In the configuration shown in FIG. 10(a), it is preferable to arrange the spring members 66 in front of and behind the horizontal shaft 63. In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals are used for components that perform the same functions as those in FIG. 9 (the same applies to the drawings described below).

[0036] As in the chair 60 shown in Figures 9 and 10, it is preferable that the seat 61 and the backrest 62 are configured to rotate integrally around a horizontal axis 63, but it can also be configured so that only the backrest 62 tilts while the seat 61 remains horizontal by operating the lever 67a of the ratchet mechanism 67, as shown in Figures 11(a) and (b).

[0037] The chair 60 shown in Fig. 9 is arranged so that the vertically extending rotation axis R passes through the seat 61, which prevents the bather's body from swinging excessively when turning, but the chair 60 may be arranged so that the rotation axis R passes through the backrest 62 behind the seat 61, as shown in the schematic cross-sectional views of Figs. 12(a) and (b) and the plan views of Figs. 13(a) and (b). With this configuration, the chair 60 can be rotatably supported by the support 70 so that when the backrest 62 faces the long side 11a of the base plate body 11, the front end 61a of the seat 61 protrudes from the long side 11a of the base plate body 11, as shown in Figs. 12(a) and 13(a), while when the backrest 62 faces the short side 11b of the base plate body 11, as shown in Figs. 12(b) and 13(b), the entire seat 61 is positioned directly above the base plate body 11. As shown in Figure 13(a), it is preferable that the front end 61a of the seat portion 61 that extends beyond the long side 11a of the bottom plate main body 11 approximately coincides with the outer wall 53 of the bathtub 50, so that a bather can more easily sit on it from the long side side outside the bathtub 50.

[0038] The chair 60 shown in Figures 12 and 13 has a backrest 62 configured with a horizontal portion 62b between the support surface 62a and the seat 61, as shown in Figures 14(a) and (b), thereby reducing the degree to which the bather's body is swayed when turning.

[0039] 15(a) and (b), the seat 61 is configured to be reciprocable along the guide rail 71a formed on the upper surface of the base plate 71, so that the support 70 can support the chair 60 rotatably and reciprocally. According to this configuration, as shown in FIG. 16(a), when the backrest 62 faces the long side 11a of the bottom plate body 11, the front end 61a of the seat 61 extends beyond the long side 11a of the bottom plate body 11. By moving the chair 60 backward in the direction of the arrow, the chair 60 moves to a position where the front end of the seat 61 does not extend beyond the long side of the bottom plate body 11, as shown in FIG. 16(b). From this state, the chair 60 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, so that the backrest 62 faces the short side 11b of the bottom plate body 11, as shown in FIG. 16(c).

[0040] The configuration shown in Figures 15 and 16 makes it easy for the bather to sit in chair 60 in the position shown in Figure 16(a), while allowing the bather to fully stretch their legs in the position shown in Figure 16(c), thereby enabling the bather to bathe safely and comfortably.

[0041] In addition, in the lifting device 1 of this embodiment, the space 31 of the accommodation section 30 in which the lifting device main body 20 is accommodated is separated from the inside of the bathtub 50 by the deformable partition member 40, so there is no risk of the lifting device main body 20 being submerged in the water in the bathtub 50. Therefore, high watertightness is not required for the actuator 26 of the lifting device main body 20, so that the cost of the lifting device 1 can be reduced and the life of the lifting device 1 can be extended. The actuator 26 of the lifting device main body 20 may be a hydraulic cylinder or may be powered by electricity, magnetic force, or the like, for example, a geared motor, a solenoid, or the like. In addition, by providing the lifting device main body 20 on the outside of the inner wall 51 of the bathtub 50, cleaning of the inside of the bathtub 50 and maintenance of the lifting device main body 20 can be easily performed.

[0042] In addition, since the first engagement portion 12 is positioned above the support portion 27 and the second engagement portion 13 is positioned inside the support portion 27, and the partition member 40 is clamped between the first engagement portion 12 and the second engagement portion 13 and the support portion 27, the bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair 10 can be securely held between the support portions 27 of the lifting device main body 20 which are positioned on both sides of the short side of the bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair 10, so that the bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair 10 can be raised and lowered while suppressing misalignment of the bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair 10 in the short side direction.

[0043] In this embodiment, the rotation axis of the first engagement part 12 is located directly above the rotation axis of the support part 27, and the rotation axis of the second engagement part 13 is located at the same height as the rotation axis of the support part 27, so that the straight line L1 connecting the axial centers of gravity of the first engagement part 12 and the support part 27 and the straight line L2 connecting the axial centers of gravity of the second engagement part 13 and the support part 27 shown in Fig. 8 are perpendicular to each other, thereby enhancing the effect of preventing the positional deviation of the bathtub base plate with chair 10. However, the straight lines L1 and L2 do not necessarily have to be perpendicular to each other. For example, the straight line L1 may be inclined up to about 30 degrees to the left and right from the vertical direction, and the straight line L2 may be inclined up and down from the horizontal direction by about 30 degrees.

[0044] The support part 27, the first engagement part 12, and the second engagement part 13 are preferably rollers arranged to be freely rotatable as in this embodiment, which can facilitate smooth raising and lowering of the chair-attached bathtub base plate 10. However, the support part 27, the first engagement part 12, and the second engagement part 13 do not necessarily have to be rollers, and may be, for example, cylindrical members fixed to the movable part 22 or the base plate body 11 so as not to be rotatable.

[0045] In addition, by configuring the reduced diameter portion 12b and the expanded diameter portion 27b to engage in the radial direction via the partition member 40, not only is the positional deviation of the chair-equipped bathtub bottom plate 10 in the short side direction restricted, but also the positional deviation of the chair-equipped bathtub bottom plate 10 in the long side direction restricted, so that the chair-equipped bathtub bottom plate 10 can be raised and lowered more reliably. In this embodiment, the reduced diameter portion 12b is formed in the first engagement portion 12, and the expanded diameter portion 27b is formed in the support portion 27, but the expanded diameter portion may be formed in the first engagement portion 12, and the reduced diameter portion may be formed in the support portion 27. The positions of the expanded diameter portion and the reduced diameter portion are not limited to the axial center of the first engagement portion 12 and the support portion 27, and may be other positions.

[0046] The storage section 30 in this embodiment is configured to store the lifting device main body 20 in the space 31 formed between the inner wall 51 and the outer wall 53 of the bathtub 50, but other configurations are possible as long as the lifting device main body 20 can support the bathtub base plate 10 without being immersed in the water in the bathtub 50, and the storage section 30 can be provided in an appropriate position depending on the shape, size, arrangement, etc. of the bathtub 50. The space 31 is preferably defined by the inner wall 51 of the bathtub 50, but is not necessarily limited to this configuration.

[0047] In this embodiment, a plurality of partition members 40 are provided along the side edges of the bottom plate 10, but a single partition member may be provided. In addition, the lifting device body 20 in this embodiment is disposed so as to support both short sides of the bottom plate 10, but may be configured to support both long sides of the bottom plate 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1. Lifting device for the base plate of a bathtub with a seat 10. Bathtub base with seat 11 Bottom plate body 50 Bathtub 60 Chairs 61 Seat area 62 Backrest 70 Support part

Claims

1. The bathtub seat includes a rectangular base plate body that is raised and lowered in a bathtub, a chair having a seat portion and a backrest portion, and a support portion that is provided on an upper surface of the base plate body and supports the chair so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis that extends in a vertical direction; The chair is a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair, and the backrest portion rotates between a direction in which the backrest portion faces the long side of the bottom plate body and a direction in which the backrest portion faces the short side of the bottom plate body.

2. 2. The base plate for a bathtub with chair according to claim 1, wherein the chair is supported by the support portion so that the seat portion and the backrest portion are integrally rotatable about a horizontal axis.

3. The chair is supported by the support portion so that the front end of the seat extends beyond the long side of the base plate body with the backrest portion facing the long side of the base plate body.

4. The chair is supported by the support portion so that, with the backrest portion facing the long side of the base plate body, the chair can move back and forth between a position where the front end of the seat portion extends beyond the long side of the base plate body and a position where the front end of the seat portion does not extend beyond the long side of the base plate body.

5. The bottom plate for a bathtub with chair according to claim 1, A lifting device for a bottom plate for a bathtub with a chair, comprising a lifting device main body for raising and lowering the bottom plate for the bathtub with a chair.

Images