Pedicure Spa Station with Separate Integrated Drain |
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申请号 | US13186099 | 申请日 | 2011-07-19 | 公开(公告)号 | US20130019394A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2013-01-24 |
申请人 | Minh Sang Tran; Christopher Alexander; | 发明人 | Minh Sang Tran; Christopher Alexander; | ||||
摘要 | A pedicure spa station platform that includes a raised platform having a front and a rear, and a seat area on the top surface of the platform for attaching a seat or chair. The platform has a basin tray for holding a basin. The basin tray area is positioned in front of the seat mount location. A well entrance is located between the seat area and the basin tray. The well has a sidewall with a front portion and a back portion, and a drain positioned in the sidewall. The sidewall forms a rim near the front portion (the well entrance). A vertical riser is positioned in front of the basin tray, and the vertical riser terminates in a footrest, where the footrest extends in part over and above the basin tray. The foot rest is movable with respect to the raised platform. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | A pedicure spa station is a chair where a user rests and provides the needed equipment for a pedicurist—a basin (also referred to as a “spa basin”) for water and additives, where the user may soak his/her feet, and a foot support where the user can rest his/her feet for access by the pedicurist. After one user has completed a pedicure, the spa basin should be emptied and cleaned for use by the next user. In general, either the spa basin has a drain in the bottom to allow drainage of the basin, or if lacking a drain, the spa basin must be moved to a discharge location remote from the spa station. The first option is not optimal, as an integrated spa basin drain, after the spa is drained and cleaned, may hold skin shavings, nail shavings or other biological materials, and hence contaminate the basin and present a sanitary hazard for the next user. The second option, while more sanitary, requires the pedicurist to pick up the water filled basin and discharge it remotely. This causes physical stress on the pedicurist, and presents spill and contamination hazards. The spa station may include a resistance coil or other heater positioned underneath or embedded in the basin tray 3B, or in a separate plate, such as in a heating pad in the tray area 3B, to provide additional heating therapy for a user's feet, as shown in Positioned in front of the basin 3 is foot support member 4. As shown, foot support member 4 has a vertical riser 6 formed in an arch shape. At the top of the arch is a laterally extending footrest 6A and 6B ( As shown in As shown, the vertical riser 6 is hingedly connected to the platform 2. Another embodiment would have the footrest area hingedly connected to the vertical riser 6, or have the vertical riser 6 formed from a top section and a bottom section, where the two sections are hingedly joined. Additionally, instead of a hinged vertical joint, the vertical riser 6 may pivot horizontally with respect to the platform 2, allowing the riser 6 to rotate in a horizontal plane and out of the path of the basin 3 when discharging the basin's contents. Instead of a hinged or rotative attachment, the footrest may be in a telescoping relationship with the vertical riser, allowing the footrest to telescope out of the way of the path of the basin during discharge. Alternatively, the footrest or vertical riser may simply be detachable, or in some embodiments, lacking. Positioned in front of the chair 1 and behind the spa basin tray 3B is a drain area 90. If the spa station is formed from molded plastic materials, the drain area 90 may be integral to the base 2. The drain area is formed by a sidewall 91 that creates a well with a well bottom, and has a drain 100 located in the well bottom. Preferably, the well is deep enough to accommodate a sufficient amount of water to prevent overflowing of the drain area 90 when discharging the contents of the spa basin 3. The drain area 90 (also referred to as a well) is preferably large enough to allow a user to access the well to clean the drain to remove any materials that may impede flow through the drain 100. The drain connects to plumbing underneath the platform area that supports the chair, which plumbing can be connected to a suitable discharge site. The drain sidewall 91 extends upwardly and forms a rim 92 in the front of the well (that is adjacent the basin 3 and slightly below the lip 3A of the spa basin 3 when the spa basin is resting on the basin tray 3C). The rim 92 may be shaped in a region adjacent the spa basin 3 to accommodate the lip or edge 3B of the spa basin 3 in order to support the spa basin 3 when emptying the basin, such as shown in In another embodiment, a hinged basin support may be attached to the platform to support the bowl during a discharge, or be formed in the platform. For instance, a single hinged “L” shaped bracket, where the bottom of the “L” is an annular ring, may be used, with the top of the “L” hingedly attached to the sidewall of the drain area 91 (such as centered on the discharge site). The annular ring may be sized to allow the basin 3 to rest inside the annulus (such as underneath the lip 3A of the basin, if the basin has a protruding lip), or be sized smaller then the bottom of the basin, to support the basin 3 on the bowl bottom of the basin. Instead of the bottom of the “L” forming an annular ring, the bottom of the “L” may simply form a ledge on which the basin bottom rests. If this type of hinged basin support is utilized, the rim shape 92 and lip 3B of the bowl do not need to be formed for cooperative support, as the hinge supports the basin. Instead of a single hinged arm, a double hinged arm could be employed, with each arm rotatively connects to the sidewall of the well or other suitable location, and each arm connects to the bottom basin support—such as an annular ring, or plate, or other basin support. Another embodiment of a hinged basin support is shown in The basin lip 3A may be formed to rotate on drain bracket 300 (or on formed rim 92). As shown in As shown in Another embodiment of a hinged basin support is shown in As described, the basin edge and rim of the well may cooperate to form a supporting hinged area for the basin to discharge into the well. Also as described, a separate hinge or rotation support may be provided to allow the basin to discharge into the well, where the edge or lip of the bowl and rim of the well do not cooperate, thus allowing for bowl variations. In use, the spa basin 3 is filled with water and additives. After use by a user, the spa basin 3 is emptied by rotating the spa basin 3 upwardly and rearwardly, adjacent the drain sidewall 91. In the embodiment shown in If the basin support member is absent, then preferably the rim of the drain sidewall and the lip 3A of the basin 3 are shaped to accommodate one another so that the spa basin is rotated toward the drain area, the rim of the drain area will support and help guide the rotating spa basin. Additionally, the spa basin may have a vertical flat area 3C that faces the drain sidewall 91 to support the spa basin 3 when discharging the contents of the basin 3 into the drain well. As described, the drain 100 is located adjacent the basin and built into the chair support. The spa station is designed to allow a pedicurist to discharge the contents of the spa basin with little effort, and maintain a more sanitary environment for a user. The integrated nature of the well and the cooperating hinged basin support helps prevent the discharged contents from spilling back into the basin. |