Tanning booth having reduced tanning time

Abstract

A tanning booth generally has rectangular wall panels, a floor frame, a ceiling frame and a fan that is mounted to the ceiling. The wall panels are interconnected in the shape of a figure-8 in order to form a front section or room defined by front wall panels and a back section or room defined by back wall panels. In use, the front room is a changing area that provides privacy for the user to dress and undress, and the back room is the tanning area. An inside door is provided to separate the front room from the back room. The front section and the back section are each hexagonal-shaped rooms that together form the rough figure-8 shape. Tanning lamps are provided to surround the user in the tanning room. The floor has a pattern of holes that permit air to be drawn through the tanning room by a fan mounted on the ceiling to sufficiently cool the user and lamps during tanning.

1 . A tanning booth comprising: 
 a floor frame having at least one opening that permits air flow, said floor frame defining a tanning area;    a floor located on said floor frame, said floor having openings forming a ventilation pattern that permits air flow;    wall panels located about said floor frame to enclose the tanning area;    corner posts secured to said floor and connected to adjacent wall panels;    at least one lamp assembly connected to each of said wall panels to generate tanning rays into the tanning area;    a ceiling having a ventilation opening; and,    a blower secured to said ceiling and positioned in the ventilation opening to direct an air flow through the tanning area, the ventilation pattern and the at least one opening in said floor frame.    
   
   
       2 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein each of said at least one lamp assembly has ten lamps.  
   
   
       3 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one lamp assembly generates 1,680 watts per minute of ultraviolet radiation.  
   
   
       4 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one lamp assembly generates sufficient ultraviolet radiation to provide a tan within about eight minutes.  
   
   
       5 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein said blower, the ventilation pattern and the at least one opening in said floor frame dissipate at least 500 BTU of heat per minute.  
   
   
       6 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein the tanning area has a hexagonal shape.  
   
   
       7 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said wall panels is a door.  
   
   
       8 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein said floor frame has a figure-8 shape defining the tanning area and a changing area.  
   
   
       9 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , said corner post comprising a post member with at least one arm forming a general V-shape and a coupling member having at least one arm, said coupling member connected to said post member so that the at least one arm of said coupling member is parallel to and separated from the at least one arm of said post member to form a channel therebetween, the channel receiving one of said wall panels for connecting said corner post to the received wall panel.  
   
   
       10 . The tanning booth of  claim 9 , said coupling member having at least one leg continuous with the at least one arm, the at least one leg separating the at least one arm of said coupling member from the at least one arm of said post member and providing a stop in the channel against which the received wall panel cannot be further inserted into the channel.  
   
   
       11 . The tanning booth of  claim 9 , further comprising a cover removably connected to said coupling member.  
   
   
       12 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , further comprising a fastener connected to at least one of said corner posts for removably securing said at least one corner post to said floor.  
   
   
       13 . The tanning booth of  claim 12 , said fastener having a hook and said floor having an opening, wherein the hook of said fastener removably engages the opening in said floor.  
   
   
       14 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , further comprising a fastener connected to at least one of said corner posts for removably securing said at least one corner post to said ceiling.  
   
   
       15 . The tanning booth of  claim 14 , further comprising a bracket connected to said ceiling, said fastener having a hook for removably engaging said bracket.  
   
   
       16 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , wherein a section of said floor is removable to permit cleaning beneath said floor.  
   
   
       17 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , said floor frame having a ledge extending inwardly about the perimeter of said floor frame for receiving said floor, said ledge defining a side portion of said floor frame, wherein the wall panels rest against the side portion of said floor frame when the wall panels are located about said floor.  
   
   
       18 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , further comprising a ceiling frame connected to said ceiling for retaining said corner posts.  
   
   
       19 . The tanning booth of  claim 18 , said ceiling frame comprising a right-angled bracket.  
   
   
       20 . The tanning booth of  claim 1 , further comprising a ceiling frame connected to said ceiling for retaining said wall panels.