Bathtub system

Abstract

A bathtub system includes a tub having a substantially horizontal planar floor and contiguous endwalls and sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor. At least one sidewall has a door opening. A sliding door cooperates with the door opening. The sliding door is operable in a direction which includes a horizontal translation component between oppositely disposed open and closed positions. The door is slid between those positions by a horizontal force applied by a user sitting in the tub urging the sliding door horizontally. The door opening has a sill having an elevation which is both substantially equal to an elevation of the seat of a user's wheelchair and substantially at the same elevation as the floor of the tub so as to not interfere with the user of the tub transferring laterally from the seat of the wheelchair, over the sill, and onto the floor of the tub.

1 . A bathtub system comprising
 a tub having a substantially horizontal planar floor and contiguous endwalls and sidewalls extending upwardly from said floor so as to define tub enclosure having a head-end of the tub at one of said endwalls and an opposite foot-end at the other of said endwalls, wherein said sidewalls are a longitudinally extending pair of sidewalls at least one of which having a door opening and a sliding door cooperating with said door opening, said sliding door being operable in a direction including a horizontal translation component between oppositely disposed open and closed positions by a horizontal force applied by a user in said tub urging said sliding door between said open and closed positions,   wherein said door opening has a sill having an elevation which is substantially at the same elevation of said floor so as to not interfere with a user of said tub transferring laterally from a seat of a wheelchair, over said sill, and onto said floor of said tub, and wherein said elevation of said floor is substantially equal to an elevation of the seat of the wheelchair,   and wherein said tub has an upper circumferential edge around said sidewalls and said endwalls, and wherein a plurality of handles are mounted adjacent said edge spaced along said sidewalls whereby a user grasping said handles urges/biases the user from said opening so as to slide over said floor towards said head-end of said tub,   and wherein a set of controls, including hot and cold water valve controls and at least one drain control, are mounted substantially on said upper edge of at least one of said sidewalls and disposed substantially medially along said upper edge so as to be within reach of a user in said tub while reclined in a reclined position along said floor and head-end,   and wherein a water inlet spout is mounted on one of said sidewalls of said tub, and wherein said spout is adapted to deflect an inflow of water flowing from said spout into said tub downwardly substantially parallel to said one of said sidewalls in close adjacency thereto so as to direct the inflow to not substantially impact a user resting in said reclined position.