Accessible Bath Enclosure With Pivoting Panels and Zero Threshold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bath and shower environments often present barriers for accessibility, such as thresholds and fixed doors, which can impede users, especially those with mobility issues, and lack efficient water containment solutions.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a seat with easy access, adjustable glass panels with hinges and partitions for pivoting access, a zero-threshold drain, and integrated grab bars with a handheld showerhead for user convenience, along with removable and hygienic seating options and water-resistant materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed doors are used to contain water, then water containment is improved, but accessibility and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming fixed, static doors into movable, adjustable glass panels. The panels can be positioned in multiple locations along the bath environment perimeter, allowing users to open or adjust them for easy access while maintaining water containment when closed. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction between reliable water containment and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the enclosure into multiple adjustable glass panels rather than using a single fixed door. Each panel can be independently positioned and adjusted, allowing selective opening for accessibility while maintaining overall water containment. This segmentation enables flexible access points without compromising the integrity of water containment.
2Reliability
If thresholds are used to prevent water escape, then water containment is improved, but accessibility deteriorates due to step barriers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the threshold barrier from the bath environment entrance. Instead of using a threshold to contain water, the invention relies on adjustable glass panels and proper drainage systems. This removal of the threshold step barrier resolves the contradiction by maintaining water containment through alternative means while significantly improving accessibility for users with mobility issues.
3Reliability
If glass panels extend to the floor for water containment, then water containment is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the glass panels adjustable in position and angle rather than fixed. The panels can be locally repositioned to optimal locations and tilted to convenient angles for user manipulation. This local adjustability resolves the contradiction by maintaining effective water containment coverage while enabling easy operation and access for users.
Data Source
AI summary
A bath environment, such as a tub or shower, has a seat upon which a user sits, and a first panel, usually glass, for enclosing a first portion of the bath environment proximal to the seat. The first panel has a width roughly correlated to a width of the seat to allow a user easy access to the seat and to the panel to manipulate the panel. The invention also has a second panel for enclosing a second portion of the bath environment. The second panel has a hinge and a pair of partitions connected by the hinge so that the partitions pivot about the hinge to allow access to the bath environment distal from the seat. Also included is a stanchion that is disposed on and extends upwardly from an outer edge of the bath environment to a given height. The first panel has a length that extends downwardly from an upper region of the bath environment and ends at the height of the stanchion.