Padded knee and elbow rest for outer bathtub wall

Abstract

The invention relates to a padded knee and elbow rest for use with the outer wall of a bathtub. The invention has particular application for people that use a bathtub to bathe their child or pet, or who assist in the bathing of persons with reduced mobility, and provides padded cushions for the user's elbows and knees while the user is, at the side of a bathtub, thereby lessening the strain and discomfort to knees and elbows that can result from kneeling on a bathroom floor and leaning on the top of a bathtub wall, and also reduces the likelihood of slipping on a wet floor or bathtub wall and injuring the user or the person being bathed or damaging the thing of interest within the tub. The device can be easily wiped clean, repels moisture and can be folded into a compact unit for storage.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An adjustable demountable padded knee and elbow rest for attachment to a bathtub's outer wall, comprising: 
 a. a lower frame with detachable washable padding for kneeling on the upper side with non-slip characteristics on the lower side when installed horizontally on the floor adjacent to the outer side of a bathtub's outer vertical wall;    b. a middle frame of adjustable vertical length hingedly attached to the lower frame and deployed vertically adjacent to said same outer side;    c. an upper frame with detachable washable padding for resting elbows on the upper side with non-slip characteristics on the lower side when installed roughly horizontally across the upper edge of said bathtubs outer vertical wall, said upper frame hingedly attached to said middle frame, and said lower side having demountable gripping or attaching means to be attached to said upper edge.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  where said middle frame is comprised of hollow tubular material assembled into a rectangular shape when assembled, comprised of an upper substantially “U” shaped part and a lower substantially “U” shaped part, the vertical legs of one “U” shaped part fitting slideably or telescopically within the vertical legs of the other “U” shaped part, the said parts being fitted with means to temporarily affix one part to the other thus forming a stable rectangular shaped middle frame of desired vertical height.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  where the means of affixing one part to the other comprises a pin removably fittable within one set of a series of sets of mating holes in the vertical legs of the “U” shaped parts, which when so fitted cause one part to be fixed to the other at a desired combined vertical height.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  where the demountable tub-gripping means comprises one of the following means: suction cups, non-skid coatings, Velcro™ strips installed on tub and padding, non-skid strips applied to lower side of padding.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  where the hinged attachments between middle, upper and lower frames are comprised of fabric sleeves within the padding elements within which matching horizontal tubing parts of the middle frame are rotatably fitted.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  which when demounted from said bathtub can be folded to a substantially flat package by deploying the upper, lower and middle frames in substantially parallel positions to each other for storage or transport, with a handle and means for fastening the apparatus in such a flattened deployment.  
     
     
         7 . An adjustable demountable padded knee and elbow rest apparatus for attachment to a bathtub's outer wall comprising a lower frame of rigid tubular material of rectangular shape upon which is fitted a padding element with washable outer surface, said lower padded element being fitted as well with non-skid material in strips on the lower padded element's bottom side to engage with the floor upon which said lower padded element rests when the apparatus is mounted; a middle frame of rigid tubular material comprised of two mating “U” shaped elements which when mated are engaged at their respective legs by insertion of one “U” shaped frame element's legs within the other element's legs telescopically and which when mated are capable of being fixed one to the other to a configured rectangular shaped middle unit with desired vertical height when mounted with said middle frame vertically deposed near to said bathtub's outer wall's outer surface; said middle frame hingedly attached to said lower frame and padding element at the middle frame's lower side, and hingedly attached to an upper frame element at the middle frame's upper side; said upper frame comprised of rigid tubular material formed into a rectangular shape and having mounted thereupon an upper padded element being fitted with a washable outer surface and as well with a means of non-skid attachment to said bathtub's outer wall's upper surface; said attachment means being chosen from among: non-skid strips, mating Velcro™ strips on tub and pad, suction cups on pad's lower surface, non-slip material.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7  which when demounted from said bathtub can be folded to a flat package by deploying the upper, lower and middle frames in substantially parallel positions to each other for storage or transport, with a handle and means for fastening the apparatus in such a flattened deployment.