Bath system, particularly for wheel-chair constrained disabled persons

Claim 1

A bath system for wheel-chair constrained disabled persons for use in bathrooms and comprising a general-duty wheel-chair and, adapted to be installed in the bathroom, a sit-down bath tub having associated control equipment adapted to be manipulated with a minimum of manual effort and mobility for supplying temperate water for bath and shower and for discharging the bathwater, comprising a front or foot end of the bath provided with an opening extending from its top edge down to its bottom and having a width slightly larger than that of the seat portion of the wheel-chair, this opening a door adapted to close off said opening in a watertight manner and movably mounted on the bath tub, the wheel-chair including a movable chassis and a seat detachably mounted on the chassis and adapted, after the disabled person sitting in the chair has moved the latter backwards to a position close to the open end of the bath tub and connected the chassis to the tub, to be released from the chassis and then transferred through said end opening to a sitting position within the tub, and said control equipment comprising automatic means: (a) in the form of ejector means for disconnecting and pushing away the chair chassis from the tub after the seat portion has been released from the chassis and transferred to sitting position within the tub, (b) means for opening and closing and watertight sealing of the door, (c) means for returning the chassis to the tub and renewed interconnection of these components after the door has been opened after bathing, and (d) means for transferring the seat portion into and out of the bath tub.