U.S. patent application number 11/998245 was filed with the patent office on 2009-06-04 for bathing chair with fixing clamp assembly.
Invention is credited to Yu-Wen Cheng.
Application Number | 20090139021 11/998245 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40674255 |
Filed Date | 2009-06-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090139021 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cheng; Yu-Wen |
June 4, 2009 |
Bathing chair with fixing clamp assembly
Abstract
A bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly comprises a front
frame and a rear frame, having horizontal rods, a seat, several
gliding blocks, a backrest, a handle, and a fixing clamp assembly.
The fixing clamp assembly further comprises an upper plate, laid on
an edge of a bathtub, an outer plate, attached to the upper plate
and leaning against an outer side of a bathtub wall, a connecting
tube, having an outer end, which is fastened to an upper side of
the upper plate, a holding arm, shaped like the letter L and having
a lateral end, which has an inner thread and is inserted into an
inner end of the connecting tube, a holding plate, which is
fastened to a lower end of the holding arm and leans against an
inner side of the bathtub wall, and a threaded rod, passing through
the connecting tube and engaging with the inner thread. By turning
the threaded rod, the holding plate is fastened on the bathtub wall
and released therefrom to be able to glide thereon.
Inventors: |
Cheng; Yu-Wen; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PRO-TECHTOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
20775 NORADA CT.
SARATOGA
CA
95070
US
|
Family ID: |
40674255 |
Appl. No.: |
11/998245 |
Filed: |
November 29, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/578.1 ;
297/463.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 3/122 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
4/578.1 ;
297/463.1 |
International
Class: |
A47K 3/12 20060101
A47K003/12; A47C 31/00 20060101 A47C031/00 |
Claims
1. A bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly, comprising: a
front frame and a rear frame, having horizontal rods; a seat;
several gliding blocks; a backrest; a handle; and a fixing clamp
assembly, further comprising an upper plate, laid on an edge of a
bathtub; an outer plate, attached to said upper plate and leaning
against an outer side of a bathtub wall; a connecting tube, having
an outer end, which is fastened to an upper side of said upper
plate; a holding arm, shaped like said letter L and having a
lateral end, which has an inner thread and is inserted into an
inner end of said connecting tube; a holding plate, which is
fastened to a lower end of said holding arm and leans against an
inner side of said bathtub wall; and a threaded rod, passing
through said connecting tube and engaging with said inner thread;
wherein, by turning said threaded rod, said holding plate is
fastened on said bathtub wall and released therefrom to be able to
glide thereon.
2. The bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of claim 1,
wherein said upper plate, outer plate and holding plate each are
covered with a sticking cover.
3. The bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of claim 1,
wherein said holding plate carries two mounting plates, which are
fastened to said lower end of said holding arm by a bolt.
4. The bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of claim 1,
wherein said connecting tube on said outer end thereof carries a
lid which is passed through by said threaded rod.
5. The bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of claim 1,
wherein said front and rear frames are shaped like the letter L,
having outer ends which are fastened to said fixing clamp assembly
to be fixed on said bathtub wall.
6. The bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of claim 1,
further comprising a second fixing clamp assembl, with said front
and rear frames being shaped like straight rods, having opposite
ends which are respectively fastened to said fixing clamp assembly
and to said second fixing clamp assembly.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a bathing chair with a
fixing clamp assembly, particularly to a bathing chair with a
turnable seat for convenient siting down and a fixing clamp
assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a bathing chair for assisting
elderly and handicapped persons to enter and leave a bathtub has
been disclosed in taiwan patent no. 152697 and U.S. Pat. No.
5,940,905 (bathing chair positioning system). The bathing chair
taught therein comprises a front frame 21; a rear frame 22; a
bearing assembly 3; a seat 4; a handle 5; and fixing devices 6, 6A.
The front and rear frame rods 21, 22 are shaped like the inverted
letter U, reaching across a bathtub 1 and have horizontal rods 211,
221 which pass over an edge 11 of the bathtub 1 at a distance. A
right connecting rod 23A and a left connecting rod 23B connect the
front and rear frames 21, 22. The seat 4 is a plate of roughly
rectangular shape and is mounted on the horizontal rods 211, 221,
being movable along the horizontal rods 211, 221. The bearing
assembly 3 comprises several gliding blocks which are connected
with the seat 4 on a lower side thereof and glide along the
horizontal rods 211, 221. A backrest 41 is connected to the seat 4
by two L-shaped link rods 42A, 42B. The link rods 42A, 42B have
horizontal extensions 421A, 421B, which are fastened to the gliding
blocks of the bearing assembly 3. Thereby, the seat 4 is enabled to
glide along the horizontal rods 211, 221. The handle 5 is a rod
which is shaped like the inverted letter U and is fastened to the
front and rear frame rods 21, 22 at left ends thereof, reaching
higher than the seat 4 for providing a hold when the seat 4 is
moved along the horizontal rods 211, 221. The fixing devices 6, 6A
are made of plastics or another suitable soft material and are
shaped like strips. The fixing devices 6, 6A have fixed ends 61,
61A and holding ends 66, 66A. The fixed ends 61, 61A are fastened
to the link rods 42A, 42B of the seat 4, respectively. The holding
ends 66, 66A are held on the right and left connecting rods 23A, as
needed. At the holding ends 66, 66A, the fixing devices 6, 6A have
endpieces 68, 68A from lower sides of which holding elements 67,
67A extend away, respectively. Fastening elements 63, 63A are
attached to endpieces 62, 62A at the fixed ends 61, 61A and are in
turn fastened to the link rods 42A, 42B to prevent shifting of the
fixing devices 6, 6A. Before sitting down on the seat 4, a user
pulls up the holding end 66, so that the holding element 67 is held
on the right connecting rod 23A. For bathing, the user releases the
holding element 67, which subsequently becomes detached from the
right connecting rod 23A. The seat 4 is shifted leftward until a
leftmost position over the bathtub 1, with the holding element 67A
being held on the left connecting rod 23B.
[0003] A conventional bathing chair as just described assists
elderly and handicapped people to enter and leave a bathtub safely
and conveniently. However, completely bridging the bathtub 1, the
front and rear frames 21, 22 have large sizes and hence are
inconvenient to transport.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly which takes up a
relatively small space.
[0005] It is another object of the invention to provide a bathing
chair with a fixing clamp assembly which is easy to transport.
[0006] It is a further object of the invention to provide a bathing
chair with a fixing clamp assembly which is easily and safely
fastened to a bathtub.
[0007] For achieving above objects, the present invention comprises
a front frame and a rear frame, having horizontal rods, a seat,
several gliding blocks, a backrest, a handle, and a fixing clamp
assembly. The fixing clamp assembly further comprises an upper
plate, laid on an edge of a bathtub, an outer plate, attached to
the upper plate and leaning against an outer side of a bathtub
wall, a connecting tube, having an outer end, which is fastened to
an upper side of the upper plate, a holding arm, shaped like the
letter L and having a lateral end, which has an inner thread and is
inserted into an inner end of the connecting tube, a holding plate,
which is fastened to a lower end of the holding arm and leans
against an inner side of the bathtub wall, and a threaded rod,
passing through the connecting tube and engaging with the inner
thread. By turning the threaded rod, the holding plate is fastened
on the bathtub wall and released therefrom to be able to glide
thereon.
[0008] Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of
example the principles of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bathing chair with
fixing clamp assembly of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fixing clamp
assembly of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bathing chair with
fixing clamp assembly of the present invention in the second
embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 4 (prior art) is a perspective view of a conventional
bathing chair.
[0013] FIG. 5 (prior art) is a perspective view from below of a
conventional bathing chair.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bathing chair with a fixing
clamp assembly of the present invention has a structure which is
about the same as the conventional bathing chair shown in FIGS. 4
and 5, with structural parts being denoted by the same numbers. The
bathing chair with a fixing clamp assembly of the present invention
has a front frame 21A, a rear frame 22A, and a fixing clamp
assembly 70. The fixing clamp assembly 70 further comprises: an
upper plate 71, laid on the edge 11 of the bathtub 1; an outer
plate 72, attached to the upper plate 71 and leaning against an
outer side 12 of a bathtub wall 14; a connecting tube 73, having an
outer end, which is fastened to an upper side of the upper plate
71; a holding arm 75, shaped like the letter L and having a lateral
end, which has an inner thread 76 and is inserted into an inner end
of the connecting tube 73; a holding plate 77, which is fastened to
a lower end of the holding arm 75 and leans against an inner side
13 of the bathtub wall 14; and a threaded rod 80, passing through
said connecting tube 73 and engaging with said inner thread 76. By
turning the threaded rod 80, the holding plate 77 is fastened on
the bathtub wall 14 and released therefrom to be able to glide
thereon. Thereby, relatively little space is needed and transport
is convenient.
[0015] The front and rear frames 21A, 22A are each shaped like the
letter L, having outer ends that are fastened to the fixing clamp
assembly 70, thereby being held on the bathtub wall 14 as
needed.
[0016] For avoiding slipping aside of the front and rear frames
21A, 22A and protecting the bathtub wall 14, inner walls of the
upper plate 71, the outer plate 72 and the holding plate 77 each
are covered by a sticking cover 82.
[0017] A lid 74 is set on the outer end of the connecting rod 73
and is passed through by the threaded rod 80. The threaded rod 80
has an outer end which carries a handle 81 and an inner end which
engages with the inner thread 76 of the holding arm 75. By manual
turning of the threaded rod 80, the holding arm 77 is loosened,
allowing to shift the front and rear frames 21A, 22A back and
forth.
[0018] The connecting rod 73 and the holding arm 75 preferably have
cross-sections in the shape of squares, for preventing turning
thereof against the bathtub wall 14. Alternatively, the connecting
rod 73 and the holding arm 75 have circular cross-sections, with
grooves and blocking elements being provided (not shown).
[0019] To adapt to an inclination of the inner side 13 of the
bathtub wall 14, the holding plate 77 carries two mounting plates
78, which are fastened to the lower end of the holding arm 75 by a
bolt 79 at an adjustable inclination angle.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 3, the present invention in a second
embodiment is used in conjunction with a bathtub with two bathtub
walls 14, having two fixing clamp assemblies 70 and front and rear
frames 21B, 22B. The front and rear frames 21B, 22B are shaped like
straight rods, having opposite ends which are respectively fastened
to the fixing clamp assemblies 70.
[0021] While preferred embodiments of the invention have been set
forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed
embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof
may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended
claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart
from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *