GB2061102A - Body care apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Body care apparatus comprising a body care head, eg brush (2), at least one drive shaft (6) for rotatably driving the body care head, an electric motor (16) for driving the drive shaft, and mounting means (22) for mounting the body care head on a support surface in a room, the drive shaft or shafts being sufficiently long that the electric motor is mountable remote from the body care head. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Body care apparatus This invention relates to body care apparatus. The body care apparatus may be especially useful for persons with restricted body movement.

Persons often have difficulty in washing, rubbing or massaging their own back. It is an aim of the present invention to provide body care apparatus which can be used to enable a person easily to wash, rub or massage their own back.

Accordingly, this invention provides body care apparatus comprising at least one body care head, at least one drive shaft for rotatably driving the body care head, an electric motor for driving the drive shaft, and mounting means for mounting the body care head on a support surface in a room, the drive shaft or shafts being sufficiently long that the electric motor is mountable remote from the body care head.

The body care head may have a washing portion for washing the user's body. The washing portion may be a brush washing portion or a sponge washing portion.

The body care head may alternatively have a massaging portion for massaging the user's body.

Preferably, the drive shaft or drive shafts are sufficiently long that the electric motor is mountable separately from the room containing the body care head. Thus, for example the body care head may be mounted in a bathroom above a bath or above a shower tray, and the electric motor may be mounted in the loft above the bathroom. It will be apparent that such a construction gives good safety, which is especially desirable if the body care head is to be used in a bathroom. The electric motor can then be switched on by a pull cord, thereby ensuring maximum safety against electrical shock for a person operating the body care apparatus with the body care head positioned in a bathroom or shower-room.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is one drive shaft, the body care head then being permanently mountable by the mounting means in position on the support surface in the room.

In another embodiment of the invention, there is a first drive shaft connected to the electric motor and a second flexible drive shaft connected between the first drive shaft and the body care head, the body care head then being releasably mounted by the mounting means in position on the support surface in the room, whereby the body care head can be removed from the mounting means and manually moved overthe user's body when desired.

The drive shaft may drive the body care head through a releasable connection which allows the ready interchange of body care heads. The releasable connection is advantageously a chuck device having spring loaded ball retainers.

The drive shaft may drive the body care head through a substantially right angled connection.

The mounting means may include an elongate rod which enables the body care head to be slid up and down along the elongate rod, whereby the operating height of the body care head may be varied.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows first body care apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 shows second body care apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 shows a releasable connection for the body care head of Figures 1 and 2; and Figure 4 shows a part of a flexible drive unit that can be employed in the body care apparatus illustrated in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown body care apparatus comprising a body care head in the form of a brush head 2 which is driven through a right angled connection device 4 by one end of a drive shaft 6. The drive shaft 6 has a sheath 8 and a rotatable inner portion 10. At the upper end of the drive shaft 6, the inner portion 10 passes into coupling device 12. The coupling device 12 also receives an output shaft 14 of an electric motor 16. As shown, the electric motor 16 is mounted on a support platform 18. The support platform 18 is itself mounted on joists 20 which are in a loft 22. It will thus be seen that the electric motor 16 is mounted in a loft above a room which the brush head 2 is mounted.

The brush head 2 is in fact mounted in a bathroom 24 above a bath 26. The bath 26 is mounted on a floor 28 and one end of the bath 26 abuts against a vertical wall 30. It is on this wall 30 that the brush head 2 is mounted by means of a mounting bracket having a mounting flange 32. The mounting flange 32 is apertured (not shown) in order to enable screws to be screwed into the wall 30.

It will be noticed from Figure 1 that the shaft 8 is sufficiently long to enable the electric motor 16 to be mounted remote from the brush head 2 and in fact in the loft 22. This is because steam and condensation in the bathroom 24 could cause a person using the brush head 2 possibly to get shocks from the electric motor 16 if the electric motor 16 were mounted in the bathroom 24. As a further safety feature, the electric motor 16 is switched on by means of a pull cord 34. The cord 34 passes through a rose 36 which is mounted to the ceiling 38 of the bathroom 24. The pull cord 34 enables a connection to be made between a main lead 40 and a lead 42 passing to the electric motor 16via a motor-to-mains supply distribution box 44. The box 44 is mounted on the support platform 18.

Referring now to Figure 2, similar body care apparatus as shown in Figure 1 is illustrated and similar parts have been given the same reference numeral. Their construction and operation will not again given. In Figure 2, it will be seen that the drive shaft 6 is provided with a box portion 46 for enabling the drive shaft 6 to be mounted to the ceiling 38. A bracket 48 is provided for securing the lower part of the shaft 6 in position. The shaft 6 terminates in a chuck device 50. The chuck device 50 receives one end of a flexible cable 52. The other end of the flexible cable 52 drives the brush head 2.

In Figure 2, the mounting device includes an elongate rod 54 which is secured in position on the wall 30 by means of upper and lower brackets 56, 58 respectively. The brush head 2 can be moved up and down the rod 54 to vary the operating height of the brush head 2 with respect to the bath 26. Thus, a person standing in the bath 26 can clean different parts of their back by merely moving the brush head 2 up or down the rod 54.

Referring now to Figure 3, it will be seen that the brush head 2 comprises a plurality of bristles 60 secured in a base 62. The base 62 is secured to a plate 64 and this plate 64 is provided with a shaft 66. The shaft 66 has a pair of dowell holes 68 at its end. The shaft 66 is inserted into an aperture 70 in a chuck housing 72.

In Figure 3, one end of the flexible drive cable 52 is shown. This end of the cable 52 is provided with a pair of dowells 74 which fit into the dowell holes 68 and thus enable a releasable rotatable connection to be made between the shaft 52 and the brush head 2.

The shaft 66 is retained in the housing 72 by means of balls, one of which is shown as ball 76. The balls locate in a groove 78 provided in the shaft 66.

The balls are held in position by a pair of leaf springs 80. The leaf springs 80 are held in position by screws 82. It will be apparent that the brush head 2 can easily be pulled out ofthe chuck housing 72 and another type of body care head 2 can be inserted, for example one having a sponge portion instead of the bristles 60. The chuck device 50 illustrated in Figure 2 can be similarly constructed as the chuck device illustrated in Figure 3, the only difference being that the chuch device 50 will receive the other end of the flexible cable 52.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a flexible drive shaft which can be the flexible drive shaft 52 illustrated in Figure 2 or it can be another flexible drive shaft. The left hand end 84 of the inner part of the shaft 52 is appropriately constructed to fit into a chuck device such as that shown in Figure 2 as the chuck device 50. A hand grip 86 is provided for helping to put the end 84 into the chuck device 50.

The right hand end of the flexible drive shaft 52 illustrated in Figure 4 is shown driving a brush head 2through a right angled connection device4which can be similar to the device 4 shown in Figure 1 except that the device 4 illustrated in Figure 4 is movable away from the wall. A hand grip 88 is provided for enabling the brush head 2 to be removed from its mounting means and to be held in the hand for the purpose of manually moving the brush head 2 over the body if desired.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the brush head 2 could be replaced with various types of body massaging devices. Also, the electric motor 2 could be located beneath the floor of the bathroom 24 or in another room. Also, other types of support means to those illustrated in Figure 2 can be employed for enabling the brush head 2 or other device to be moved vertically up and down and even horizontally backwards and forwards. Such mounting devices may include pivotable members.

Claims (12)

1. Body care apparatus comprising a body care head, at least one drive shaft for rotatably driving the body care head, an electric motor for driving the drive shaft, and mounting means for mounting the body care head on a support surface in a room, the drive shaft or shafts being sufficiently long that the electric motor is mountable remote from the body care head.

2. Body care apparatus according to claim 1 in which the body care head has a washing portion for washing the user's body.

3. Body care apparatus according to claim 2 in which the washing portion is a brush washing portion or a sponge washing portion.

4. Body care apparatus according to claim 1 in which the body care head has a massaging portion for massaging the user's body.

5. Body care apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the drive shaft or drive shafts are sufficiently long that the electric motor is mountable separately from the room containing the body care head.

6. Body care apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which there is one drive shaft, and in which the body care head is permanently mountable by the mounting means in position on the support surface in the room.

7. Body care apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in which there is a first drive shaft connected to the electric motor and a second flexible drive shaft connected between the first drive shaft and the body care head, and in which the body care head is releasably mounted by the mounting means in position on the support surface in the room, whereby the body care head can be removed from the mounting means and manually moved over the user's body when desired.

8. Body care apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the drive shaft drives the body care head through a releasable connection which allows the ready interchange of body care heads.

9. Body care apparatus according to claim 8 in which the releasable connection is a chuck device having spring loaded ball retainers.

10. Body care apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the drive shaft drives the body care head through a substantially right angled connection.

11. Body care apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the mounting means include an elongate rod which enables the body care head to be slid up and down along the elongate rod, whereby the operating height of the body care head may be varied.

12. Body care apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.