U.S. patent application number 10/652569 was filed with the patent office on 2005-03-03 for bathtub door seal and latch.
Invention is credited to Metcalf, Raymond.
Application Number | 20050044620 10/652569 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34217679 |
Filed Date | 2005-03-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050044620 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Metcalf, Raymond |
March 3, 2005 |
Bathtub door seal and latch
Abstract
A seal for a bathtub door is releasably retained in a groove by
a mechanical interlock. The seal has a first, relaxed condition in
which it is unable to pass through the opening of the groove, and a
second, tensioned condition in which it is able to pass through the
opening of the groove. The door is held closed in a watertight
manner by a latch having a contacting surface beveled in two
directions. The latch has a curved, tapering shape that makes it
well suited to be grasped and/or manipulated by the hands of
handicapped or arthritic persons. The groove is formed during the
molding of the door by a groove-forming element releasably attached
to the mold. When the door is removed from the mold, the
groove-forming element separates from the mold and remains in the
groove, but is removable from the groove by applying longitudinal
tension.
Inventors: |
Metcalf, Raymond;
(Hampshire, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VENABLE, BAETJER, HOWARD AND CIVILETTI, LLP
P.O. BOX 34385
WASHINGTON
DC
20043-9998
US
|
Family ID: |
34217679 |
Appl. No.: |
10/652569 |
Filed: |
September 2, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/556 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 3/006 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/556 |
International
Class: |
A47K 003/02 |
Claims
1. A bathtub comprising: sides; a door positioned in one of the
sides to facilitate entry to and exit from the bathtub; a seal for
providing watertight engagement between the door and an adjacent
portion of said one of said sides, the seal having a length, a base
portion and a sealing portion; and a groove in one of a) the door
and b) the adjacent portion of said one of said sides, the groove
having a length, an opening having a first width transverse to the
length, and a main portion having a second width transverse to the
length, wherein the second width is greater than the first width,
the base portion of the seal has a third width transverse to the
length of the seal, the third width is greater than the first
width, the base portion of the seal is positioned in the groove,
and the base portion has a first condition in which the base
portion is locked in the groove and a second condition in which the
base portion is removable from the groove.
2. The bathtub of claim 1, wherein, in the second condition, the
base portion is in tension in the longitudinal direction of the
seal.
3. The bathtub of claim 1, wherein, in the second condition, the
third width of the base portion is smaller than in the first
condition.
4. The bathtub of claim 1, wherein the base portion is made of an
elastic material that, when tensioned in a first direction,
decreases in dimension in a direction transverse to the first
direction.
5. The bathtub in claim 1, wherein the groove is in the door.
6. The bathtub of claim 1, wherein the sealing portion is
positioned outside the groove.
7. The bathtub of claim 1, wherein the groove is generally circular
in transverse cross section.
8. The bathtub of claim 7, wherein the base portion of the seal is
generally circular in transverse cross section.
9. The bathtub of claim 8, wherein the door has a perimeter, and
the groove and the seal extend along the perimeter.
10. The bathtub of claim 1, further compromising an adhesive
holding the base portion of the seal to the door.
11. A door kit for a bathtub, comprising: a door having a groove
having a) a length, b) an opening having a first width transverse
to the length, and c) a main portion having a second width
transverse to the length, wherein the second width is greater than
the first width; and a seal for providing watertight engagement
between the door and a bathtub, the seal having a length, a base
portion and a sealing portion, wherein the base portion has a third
width transverse to the length of the seal, the third width being
greater than said first width, and wherein said base portion has a
first condition in which the base portion is unable to pass through
the opening of the groove and a second condition in which the base
portion is able to pass through the opening of the groove whereby
the base portion is insertable into the groove.
12. The door kit of claim 11, wherein, in the second condition, the
base portion is in tension in the longitudinal direction of the
seal.
13. The door kit of claim 11, wherein, in the second condition, the
third width of the base portion is smaller than in the first
condition.
14. The door kit of claim 11, wherein the base portion is made of
an elastic material that, when tensioned in a first direction,
decreases in dimension in a direction transverse to the first
direction.
15. The door kit of claim 11, wherein the sealing portion of the
seal is adapted to remain outside the groove when the base portion
of the seal is in the groove.
16. The door kit of claim 11, wherein the groove is generally
circular in transverse cross section.
17. The door kit of claim 11, wherein the base portion of the seal
is generally circular in transverse cross section.
18. The door kit of claim 11, wherein the door has a perimeter, and
the groove and the seal extend along the perimeter.
19. The door kit of claim 11, further comprising adhesive holding
the base portion of the seal to the door when the base portion of
the seal is in the groove.
20. A method of making a door for a bathtub, comprising: releasably
securing in a mold for the door, for release upon the application
of a first amount of force, a groove-forming element for forming a
groove in the door; forming in the mold a door having a groove
containing a groove-forming portion of the groove-forming element;
securing the groove-forming element to the door with a second
amount of force greater than the first amount of force whereby,
when the door is removed from the mold, the groove-forming element
releases from the mold and stays with the door; removing the door
from the mold; separating the groove-forming element from the door;
and securing a seal in the groove of the door.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of releasably securing
comprises releasably securing the groove-forming element in a
groove in the mold.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the groove-forming element is
releasably secured in the groove in the mold by the engagement of a
deformable formation on the groove-forming element with a
relatively rigid formation in the groove of the mold.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of forming comprises
forming a groove having a) a length, b) an opening having a first
width transverse to the length and c) a main portion having a
second width transverse to the length, wherein the second width is
greater than the first width.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the groove-forming portion of
the groove-forming element has a third width transverse to the
length of the groove-forming element, the third width is greater
than said first width of the groove, and the groove-forming portion
has a first condition in which the groove-forming portion is locked
in the groove of the door and a second condition in which the
groove-forming portion is removable from the groove.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of separating the
groove-forming element from the door comprises applying tension to
the groove-forming portion of the groove-forming element in the
longitudinal direction of the groove-forming element.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of separating the
groove-forming element from the door comprises reducing said third
width of the groove-forming portion.
27. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of securing a seal in
the groove comprises securing a seal having a base portion with a
fourth width transverse to the length of the seal, the fourth width
being greater than said first width of the opening of the groove,
by applying to the base portion of the seal tension in the
longitudinal direction of the seal until the base portion is able
to pass through the opening of the groove, and moving the base
portion into the groove.
28. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of securing a seal in
the groove comprises securing a seal having a base portion with a
fourth width transverse to the length of the seal, the fourth width
being greater than said first width of the opening of the groove,
by reducing said fourth width of the base portion until the base
portion is able to pass through the opening of the groove, and
moving the base portion into the groove.
29. A bathtub comprising: sides; a door positioned in one of the
sides to facilitate entry to and exit from the bathtub; a seal for
providing watertight engagement between the door and an adjacent
portion of one of said sides; a latch pivotally mounted on one of
a) the door and b) said one bathtub side for movement between a
first position, in which the latch permits the door to open
relative to said one side, and a second position, in which the
latch holds the door in watertight proximity to said one side, said
latch having a contacting surface for contacting the other of the
door and said one bathtub side, said contacting surface being
beveled in two directions; whereby the latch cams the door toward
said one side of the bathtub in all positions in which said
contacting surface contacts the other of the door and said one
bathtub side as the latch moves from the first position to the
second position.
30. The bathtub of claim 29, wherein the seal is compressed in the
second position of the latch.
31. The bathtub of claim 29, wherein the latch is pivotally mounted
on said one bathtub side.
32. The bathtub of claim 29, wherein the latch has a pivot axis, a
length extending radially with respect to the pivot axis of the
latch, a width extending perpendicular to the length, and a latch
side facing the other of the door and said one side of the bathtub,
said latch side containing a first portion and the contacting
surface, the first portion defining a plane, and the contacting
surface being beveled away from said plane along said length and
along said width.
33. The bathtub of claim 29, wherein the latch has a pivot axis, a
length extending substantially radially with respect to the pivot
axis of the latch, and a width extending perpendicular to said
length, wherein the width tapers from the pivot axis to an end of
the latch radially remote from the pivot axis, and the latch curves
along its length.
34. The bathtub of claim 33, wherein the latch has a top, a bottom,
and a side curving from the top to the bottom.
35. A bathtub comprising: sides; a door positioned in one of the
sides to facilitate entry to and exit from the bathtub; a seal for
providing watertight engagement between the door and an adjacent
portion of one of said sides; and a latch pivotally mounted on one
of the door and said on bathtub side for movement between a first
position, in which the latch permits the door to open relative to
said one side, and a second position, in which the latch holds the
door in watertight proximity to said one side, wherein the latch
has a pivot axis, a length extending radially with respect to the
pivot axis of the latch, and a width extending perpendicular to
said length, wherein the width tapers from the pivot axis to an end
of the latch radially remote from the pivot axis, and the latch
curves along its length.
36. The bathtub of claim 33, wherein the latch has a top, a bottom,
and a side curving from the top to the bottom.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to bathtubs having doors to
facilitate entry and exit and, more particularly, to an arrangement
for providing seals at the doors and a method of making the doors
with seals.
[0002] Bathtubs are known that have openings in a side to
facilitate entry and exit, and doors to selectively close the
openings in a watertight manner. In some known doors, the seals are
secured only by adhesive. As a result, there have been problems
with the seals being pulled off of the doors or of the adhesive
deteriorating from cleaning agents or other causes. In addition,
the users of tubs having doors are often handicapped or elderly,
some of who have difficulty in operating the mechanisms which are
used to secure the door in a watertight condition.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] By the present invention, a seal for a bathtub door is
releasably retained in a groove by a mechanical interlock. More
specifically, the groove has an opening having a first width
transverse to the length of the groove and a main portion having a
second width transverse to the length of the groove, wherein the
second width is greater than the first width. The seal has a base
portion having a third width greater than the first width.
Furthermore, the base portion has a first condition in which it is
unable to pass through the opening of the groove, and a second
condition in which it is able to pass through the opening of the
groove. In the first condition, the base portion is relaxed, and in
the second condition, the base portion is in tension in the
longitudinal direction of the seal.
[0004] The door is held closed in a watertight manner by a latch
pivotally mounted on either the door or the side of the bathtub,
wherein the latch has a contacting surface beveled in two
directions. As a result, the latch cams the door toward the side of
the bathtub in all positions in which the contacting surface makes
contact with either the side of the bathtub or the door, whichever
the latch is not mounted on. The latch has a curved, tapering shape
that makes it well suited to be grasped and/or manipulated by hand,
including by the hands of handicapped or arthritic persons who are
limited in the positions to which they can form their hands.
[0005] The groove is formed during the molding of the door by a
groove-forming element releasably attached to the mold. When the
door is removed from the mold, the groove-forming element separates
from the mold and remains in the groove, but is removable from the
groove by the application of tension on the groove-forming element
in the longitudinal direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a bathtub according to the
present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is an elevation from the inside of a portion of a
bathtub of FIG. 1, showing a tub wall and door;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a top view of the bathtub portion of FIG. 2;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a latch for the door of the
bathtub of FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the latch of FIG. 4;
[0011] FIG. 6 is a right end view of the latch of FIG. 4;
[0012] FIG. 7 is an exploded schematic view of a portion of a
bathtub door according to the present invention and a portion of a
mold used to form the door;
[0013] FIG. 8 is a partial cross-section of a door in a mold having
a mold forming element, in accordance with the present invention;
and
[0014] FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-section of a door with a seal in
place, in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] As can be seen from FIGS. 1-3, a bathtub according to the
present invention, which is designated generally by the reference
numeral 10, has a side 12 defining an opening to facilitate entry
to and exit from the bathtub, and a door 14 pivotally mounted on
the side 12 by a hinge 16. The hinge mounting enables the door 14
to pivot between an open position allowing entry to and exit from
the bathtub 10, as shown in FIG. 1, and a closed position, as shown
in FIGS. 2 and 3, in which entry and exit are inhibited and the
door 14 closes the opening in the side 12 in a watertight manner.
For sealing purposes, a recess 17 is defined in the wall of the tub
at the opening, along both sides and at the bottom of the opening.
The recess 17 is defined in part by a flange with which a seal 18
on the door makes watertight engagement. A latch 20 is pivotally
mounted on an inside surface of the wall 12 adjacent to the recess
17. The latch 20 is movable from a first position, shown in solid
lines in FIG. 1, in which the door 14 is free to open, to a second
position, shown in dashed lines, in which the latch 20 compresses
the seal 18, thereby holding the door 14 in watertight engagement
against the tub side 12.
[0016] As can be appreciated from FIGS. 4-6, the latch 20 has a
front side 22, a rear side 24, a top 26 and a bottom 28. The latch
20 is mounted for pivoting about a pivot axis P, the latch having a
length extending radially with respect to the pivot axis P and a
width extending perpendicular to the length. The rear side 24 faces
the door 14 and the side 12 of the bathtub on which the latch is
mounted. The rear side 24 contains a first portion 30 defining a
plane and a second portion having a contacting surface 32 that is
beveled away from the plane along the length and the width. The
width tapers from the pivot axis P to an end of the latch 20
radially remote from the pivot axis, and the handle curves slightly
along its length. The front side 22 curves from the top 26 to the
bottom 28. The curving and tapering allow an arthritic or otherwise
crippled hand, the tight closing of which might not be possible, to
move along the latch 20 until it finds a portion having the proper
dimensions for the partially closed hand to grasp. Other mounting
arrangements are suitable for the latch 20. For example, the latch
20 can be mounted on an exterior surface of the door 14 in a
position to selectively engage an outside surface of the tub side
12.
[0017] The door 14 can be molded in a mold 40, a portion of which
is illustrated in FIG. 7. The mold 40 has contours that are
complementary to the contours of the door 14. The mold 40 has a
bottom 42 and a side wall composed of a first upstanding portion
44, an outwardly extending flange 46 and a second upstanding
portion 48. The flange 46 and the upstanding portions 44 and 48
extend along at least three sides of the mold 40 to form at least
the two sides and bottom of the door 14. A groove 50 is defined in
the flange 46, the groove extending for the entire length of the
flange. As can be seen from FIG. 8, the groove 50 has sidewalls 52,
54 that are angled slightly outward from the vertical. Each
sidewall contains a ridge 56 projecting toward the center of the
groove slightly above a bottom 58 of the groove.
[0018] The groove 50 in the mold 40 receives a groove-forming
element 60 that forms a groove in the door 14 as the door is molded
in the mold. The groove-forming element 60 has a shank portion 62
received in the groove 50, the shank portion having flexible fins
64 that extend laterally outward and upward from the shank portion
62. The fins 64 are dimensioned to extend, in their relaxed state,
beyond the sidewalls 52, 54 of the groove 50. As a result, the fins
64 are resiliently deformed by the sidewalls 52, 54, thereby
centering the shank portion 62. In addition, the lower fins 64
engage the undersides of the ridges 56, thereby releasably
retaining the groove-forming element 60 in the groove 50.
[0019] The groove-forming element 60 forms a groove 70 in the door
14 along three sides of the perimeter of the door 14. The groove 70
has a shape that is complementary to a groove-forming portion 66 of
the groove-forming element 60. In the illustrated embodiment, the
groove 70 is circular in transverse cross section. Of course, when
the door 14 is first molded, the seal 18 shown in FIG. 6 is not in
the groove 70. Instead, the groove-forming element 60 fills the
groove 70. The groove 70 has an opening 72 that has a first width
and a main portion 74 that has a second width that is greater than
the first width of the opening 72. As a result, once the door 14
has solidified, the groove-forming element 60 is securely retained
in the groove 70 with greater force than the groove-forming element
is retained in the groove 50 of the mold. Therefore, when the door
14 is removed from the mold 40, the groove-forming element 60
separates from the groove 50 of the mold 40 and stays with the door
14.
[0020] At least the groove-forming portion 66 of the groove-forming
element 60 is made of a material whose dimension in at least one
transverse direction decreases as tension is applied in a
longitudinal direction. As a result, when the groove-forming
element 60 is tensionsed in the longitudinal direction, the
dimension of the groove-forming portion 66 in a direction
transverse to the length and parallel to the width of the groove 70
decreases. Consequently, when the groove-forming element 60 is in
tension in the longitudinal direction, it can be removed from the
groove 70 in a direction straight through the opening 72 of the
groove 70. It is not necessary that the dimension of the
groove-portion forming 66 parallel to the opening 72 of the groove
70 decrease to a dimension smaller than the width of the opening
72. The longitudinal tension merely has to decrease the width of
the groove-forming portion 66 enough that the groove-forming
portion can deform sufficiently to move through the opening 72 of
the groove 70. In the absence of such longitudinal tension, the
groove-forming portion 66 is unable to deform sufficiently to move
through the opening 72. Suitable materials for the groove-forming
element 60 include silicones.
[0021] After the groove-forming element 60 has been removed from
the groove 70, the groove is available to receive the seal 18,
which makes watertight engagement with the side 12 of the tub 10.
The groove 70 and the seal 18 extend along the bottom and both
sides of the door 14 at the perimeter of the door. As can be seen
in FIG. 9, the seal 18 has a base portion 80 to be received and
retained in the groove 70 and a sealing portion 82 extending along
the length of the base portion and positioned outside the groove,
the base portion and the sealing portion being connected in one
piece by a neck portion 84. The base portion 80 has a generally
circular transverse cross-section and a width that is sufficiently
greater than the width of the opening 72 of the groove 70 that, in
its relaxed, untensioned condition, the base portion is unable to
pass through the opening 72 of the groove 70. This is true despite
deformability in the material of which the base portion is made.
However, when tension is applied in the longitudinal direction of
the base portion 80, the base portion is able to move through the
opening 72 of the groove and enter the main portion 74, where it is
retained after the longitudinal tension has been removed. As with
the groove-forming element 60, the width of the base portion 80 of
the seal 18 need not decrease to a width less than the width of the
opening 72 of the groove 70. It need only decrease sufficiently
that the base portion 80 can deform sufficiently to pass through
the opening 72 of the groove 70. It is preferred that an adhesive
86 also be used to secure the base portion 80 of the seal 18 in the
groove 70.
[0022] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is
contemplated that variations and/or changes in the embodiments
illustrated had described herein may be made without departure from
the present invention. For example, the groove can be provided in
the side of the tub, around the door opening, and the seal can be
secured therein for engagement with the door. As another example,
the bevels can be omitted from the contacting surface of the latch
and, instead, a beveled member can be provided on the side of the
tub for engagement with an unbeveled contacting surface of the
latch. In such an arrangement, the bevel on the beveled member can
extend in just one direction, rather than two. Furthermore, it is
understood that, if the tub door is hinged along a side opposite to
the one hinged in the embodiment illustrated, a latch can be used
that is a mirror image of the latch of the illustrated embodiment.
Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing description is
illustrative only, not limiting, and that the true spirit and scope
of the present invention will be determined by the appended
claims.
* * * * *