US3505691A - Shampoo chair - Google Patents

Description

April 1970 c. 1. REYNOLDS ETAL 3,505,691

SHAMPOO CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 7, 1968 INV E NTOD S April 970 c. 1. REYNOLDS ETAL 3,505,691

SHAMPOO CHAIR Filed Aug. 7. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 q INVENTOR5 CHAPLE} I. REYNOLD ANN M. REYNOLD$ (Aw/Zn, Wm/Hm,

W 0mm! nil/lame United States Patent O Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 597,428, Nov. 28, 1966, now Patent No. 3,428,361. This application Aug. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 750,879

Int. Cl. A4711: 3/12 U.S. Cl. 4-159 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for sup-porting a child adjacent a receptacle such as a sink for the shampooing of the childs hair, including generally a support structure, a seat structure and a head rest. The support structure has positioning means for engaging the receptacle and fixing the support structure with respect to the receptacle. The seat structure includes a seat for supporting the child and hook means to selectively engage the support structure for adjustably positioning the seat structure in front of the receptacle. The head rest is detachably connected to the support structure so that it overlies the receptacle and has a configuration for positioning the childs head comfortably while directing the shampooing fiuid away from the childs face.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation-in-part of application of Charles I. Reynolds, Ser. No. 597,428, now Patent No. 3,428,361, filed Nov. 28, 1966 for Adjustable Childs Shampoo Chair.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of invention This invention relates generally to apparatus for supporting a child while the childs hair is being shampooed. More particularly the invention relates to an apparatus which supports a child adjacent a receptacle such as a sink while adjustable positioning the childs head so that the fluid utilized during the shampooing of the childs hair will be directed away from the childs face and into the receptacle carrying the apparatus.

Description of the prior art Apparatus for supporting a person in such a position that fluids used during the shampooing of a persons hair will be directed away from his face are known in the prior art. Such apparatus, however, has generally been limited to the washing of a very small infants hair or of an adults hair in a professional environment. None of the prior art apparatus for positioning a person during the shampoooing of his hair has been satisfactory for adequately supporting the person at a convenient and easily accessible position for the washing of his hair while at the same time insuring that the fluids used to shampoo his hair will be directed away from his face.

Further, such prior art apparatus has usually been complicated and expensive in construction thereby substantially precluding its use in a home environment. Such prior art apparatus has also usually been relatively heavy. This has served to further preclude its use in a home environment.

3,505,691 Patented Apr. 14, 1970 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other problems and disadvantages associated with the prior art are overcome by the invention disclosed herein by providing a structure which will position the child at a convenient position and which will adequately direct the fluids utilized to wash the childs hair away from the childs face. The apparatus may be easily moved into position on a receptacle for the shampooing of a childs hair. The apparatus is also easily and simply adjustable to accommodate the child as he grows while still supporting the child in a convenient position for shampooing his hair. The seat structure of the invention can be quickly and easily detached from the support structure thereof and utilized for supporting a child at other locations such as the dining table or a car.

The apparatus of the invention includes generally a support structure positionable over the edge of a receptacle which is to receive the fluids during the shampooing of the childs hair; a seat structure which may be adjustably positioned along the support structure in front of the receptacle; and a head rest which extends over the receptacle and is detachably carried by the support structure for supporting the childs head comfortably during shampooing.

The support structure comprises a pair of parallel support rods joined at their upper and lower ends by upper and lower spacer bars with the upper ends of the support rods being formed into hook portions for positioning over the edge of the receptacle to carry the support rods. A positioning assembly which maintains angular position of the support structure with respect to the receptacle includes a strut extending from the lower space bar toward the receptacle and is held in position by a brace which connects the rearwardly extending portion of the strut with the upper spacer bar. A carriage plate of sheet material is carried by the support rods and is provided with a pair of parallel rows of vertically aligned slots to carry the seat structure. The slots are provided in substantially vertical guide recesses formed in the carriage plate to maintain the seat in alignment.

The seat structure includes a molded integral bottom portion and back portion mounted on an under carriage having a pair of hook portions insertable through the slots in the carriage plate to position the seat. The head rest is a molded structure constructed and arranged to support a childs head while directing the fluids used in shampooing his hair away from his face. The head rest is selectively connectable to the carriage plate and extends over the receptacle to support the childs head.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood upon consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the mounting of the invention on a receptacle;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1 and showing the invention assembled for use adjacent the receptacle;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective View showing the seat of the invention being utilized in another environment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the seat of the invention being utilized in another environment;

FIG. 6 is an exploded elevational view illustrating the adjustability of the seat of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view further showing the adjustability of the seat of the invention; and,

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the construction of the support structure of the invention.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose specific embodiments of the invention, however, the inventive concept is not limited thereto since it may be embodied in other equivalent forms.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS Referring to 'FIG. 1, it will be seen that the invention comprises generally a support structure 10, a seat structure 11 and a head rest 12. The support structure 10 is positioned on and engages a receptacle R such as a sink. After the support structure 10 has been positioned on the receptacle R, the seat structure 11 and head rest 12 can be positioned on the support structure 10 so that a child may be placed in the seat structure 11 adjacent the receptacle R and have his head rest on the head rest 12 for the shampooing of his hair.

The support structure 10 includes generally a frame 14 and a carriage plate 15 which is mounted on the frame 14. The frame 14, as seen in FIG. 8, includes a pair of spaced parallel support rods 16 having hook portions 18 on the upper ends of each. the hook portions 18 have a configuration such that the support rods 16 will be supported by the receptacle R when generally downwardly directed force is exerted on the support rods 16, The support rods 16 are held in their spaced parallel position by an upper spacer bar 19 engaging the support rods 16 just below the hook portions 18 thereof and the lower spacer bar 20 engaging the lower ends of the support rods 16.

The spacer bars 19 and 20 are shown as being constructed from cylindrical rods having enlarged flattened portions 20 at each end thereof. The flattened portions 21 are provided with apertures 22 therethrough which slidably receive the support rods 61 therethrough. The lower spacer bar 20 is held in position by a conventional retaining means 24 engaging the lower end of each of the support rods 16 in conventional manner. The lower spacer bar 20 is further provided with a pair of rearwardly extending offset portions 25 for attachment of the ends of a positioning strut 26 thereto as will be explained hereinafter.

A positioning assembly 23 maintains the support rods 16 in a predetermined angular relationship with the receptacle R, as best seen in FIG. 2. The assembly 23 includes a strut 26 constructed from an elongated metal rod formed generally in a W configuration. The forwardly extending ends 28 of the positioning strut 26 are bent to encircle the lower spacer bar 20 at the offset portions 25 thereof so that the positioning strut 26 can be pivoted with respect to the lower spacer bar 20. The forwardly facing apex 29 of the positioning strut 26 is connected to the upper spacer bar 19 by a brace 30 which has its end portions 31 bent around the central portion of the upper spacer bar 19 and the apex 29 of the positioning strut 26. It will further be seen that the positioning strut 26 is provided with resilient pads 32 at each of the rearwardly extending apexes 34 thereof.

The carriage plate 15 mounts the seat structure 11 and head rest 12 and is a thin generally rectangular plate of a material such as fiberglass. The plate 15 is provided at the upper and lower ends thereof with bent portions 34 and 35, respectively. The bent portion 34 partially encircles the upper spacer bar 19 and the bent portion 35 partially encircles the lower spacer bar 20 to maintain the carriage plate 15 in position on the frame 14.

The carriage plate 15 is provided on each side thereof with rearwardly extending integral support flange 36 which maintain the upper and lower spacer bars 19 and 20 in a spaced, relatively fixed position. Since these support flanges 36 maintain a fixed distance between the upper and lower spacer bars 19 and 20, it will be seen that the positioning strut 26 and the brace 30 will also be fixed due to the triangulation formed thereby. This serves to provide a rigid structure which is extremely lightweight so that it can be easily moved into position on a receptacle R for use.

The carriage plate 15 defines a pair of forwardly facing, generally vertically oriented parallel positioning recesses 38 along the length thereof which are effective to position the seat structure 11, as will be explained hereinafter. A plurality of equally spaced vertically aligned slots 39 are provided through the carriage plate 16 and are positioned along each of the recesses 38 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 8. Each slot in one of the recesses 38 has a corresponding horizontally aligned slot in the other recess 38, as will be explained hereinafter, to properly position the seat structure 11.

The upper end of the carriage late 15 is provided with a pair of forwardly facing brackets 41 which define passages 43 therethrough, as seen in FIG. 2, to receive and position the headrest 12 as will be explained hereinafter.

The seat structure 11 includes generally a molded seat 42 defining a bottom portion 44 and a back portion 45 of an appropriate size and shape to receive a child therein. A strap 43 may be provided to retain the child in the seat. An undercarriage 46 carries the seat member 42 and selectively positions the seat 42 on the carriage plate 15.

The undercarriage 46 includes a pair of tubular L- shaped members 48 attached to the seat 42 in a spaced parallel position. The generally vertical leg 49 of each of the members 48 is attached to the back portion 45 of the seat 42 and the generally horizontal leg 50 of each of the members 48 is mounted on the bottom portion 44 of the seat 42. Each of the members 48 is also provided with a downwardly depending support projection 51 for maintaining the seat structure 11 in alignment on the carriage plate 15. The leg 49 and projection 51 are of such size and configuration to slidably fit within the recesses 38 and preclude lateral movement of the seat struture 11.

A cylindrical hanger 52 is slidably received in the upper open end of each of the legs 49. Each hanger 52 is provided with a spring urged detent 54 at the lower end thereof, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, which selectively engages any one of a plurality of holes provided in the legs 49 to adjustably position the hanger 52 within the legs 49. Each hanger 52 is provided at the upper end thereof with a hook portion 55 which can be selectively inserted through any one of the slots 39 in the carriage plate 15 to mount the seat structure 11 on the carriage plate 15. When the hook portions 55 are inserted through the slots 39, the weight of the seat structure 11 tries to pivot the structure 11 about the hook portions 55 to move the legs 49 and projections 51 into the recesses 38.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the seat structure 11, provided with the hangers 52, can be utilized as a high chair when the hook portions 55 are placed over the back of a chair such as a dining room chair which has a relatively thin back.

Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the hangers designated as 52' may be utilized in the seat structure 11 to adapt the structure 11 for use on a thickback seat such as an auto seat. The only difference between the hangers 52' and the hangers 52 is that the hook portions 55' will fit over a thicker seat back.

The head rest 12 is a unitary molded member defining a concave portion 60 adapted to receive and support a childs neck therein; and a rearwardly extending, downwardly inclined portion 61 which supports the childs head in such a position that the shampooing fluids will be directed away from the childs face and into the recep tacle R. The forward position of the headrest 12 includes a pair of upstanding protuberances 64 which serve to maintain the child's head in position and further insure that the shampooing fluids will be directed away from the childs face. A pair of downwardly inclined extensions 65 are provided at the bottom of the forward edge of the headrest 12 for insertion through the passages 43 in the brackets 41 to hold the headrest 12 in position above the seat structure 11. When the headrest 12 is in position extending over the receptacle R, the forward portion of the receptacle R also assists in supporting the headrest 12.

OPERATION In operation, it will be seen that the support structure is placed on a receptacle R by placing the hook portions 18 over the edge of the receptacle R and the resilient pads 52 against the cabinet of the receptacle R. The headrest 12 is then positioned on the support structure 10 by placing the extensions 65 in the passages 43 so that the headrest 12 extends over the receptacle R.

The child may be placed in the seat structure 11 before or after it is placed on the support structure 10 and held therein by the strap 43. The seat structure 12 is positioned on the support structure 10 by inserting the hook portions 55 through the slots 39 and moving the legs 49 and projections 51 into the recesses 38. The appropriate slots 39 are selected so that the child can comfortably rest his head in the headrest 12 while his hair is being shampooed. It will be noted that the seat structure 11 positions the child so that his weight positvely forces the legs 49 and projections 51 into the recesses 38 to prevent lateral movement of the seat structure 11.

The detents 54 may be manipulated to move the hangers 52 and further adjust the position of the bottom portion 44 of the seat structure 11 with respect to the head rest 12. When the seat structure 11 is to be used on a seat having a thick back, the hangers 52 are removed by manipulating the detents 54 and the hangers 52 are inserted in the legs 49.

Thus, having described the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for supporting a child adjacent a receptacle during shampooing of the childs hair comprising:

a support structure including a carriage member, first hook means for engagement with the edge of the receptacle to support said support assembly adjacent the receptacle; and positioning means connected to said carriage member and engageable with the receptacle for positioning said carriage member at a predetermined angle with respect to the receptacle; said carriage member defining a plurality of spaced generally vertically aligned apertures therethrough;

a childs seat structure including a seat, an undercarriage carrying said seat and having a second book means slidably insertable in any selected one of said plurality of apertures in said carriage member for selectively positioning said seat structure on said support assembly; and

a head rest means connected to said support assembly and constructed and arranged to support the childs head and to direct the shampooing fluids away from the childs face when the child is in said seat.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carriage member defines a generally vertical recess means, said recess means constructed and arranged to engage said seat structure to prevent lateral movement thereof when said second hook means engages said carriage member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said recess means includes a pair of recesses extending along the length of said carriage member.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said second book means are selectively positionable with respect to said seat structure.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said undercarriage comprises a pair of generally L-shaped members and a pair of hangers, each of said hangers being selectively positionable in each of said L-shaped members, and said second hook means being connected to said hangers.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said L-shaped members are constructed and arranged for engagement with said recesses and said seat is positioned by said L- shaped members to cause the weight of the child placed in said seat to force said L-shaped members into engagement with said recesses.

7. Apparatus for supporting a child adjacent a receptacle during shampooing of the childs hair comprising:

a support structure including a frame and a carriage plate;

said frame including a pair of support rods having hook portions insertable over the edge of the receptacle, an upper spacer bar, a lower spacer bar, and a positioning assembly, said upper and lower spacer bars maintaining said support rods in a spaced parallel position with said upper spacer bar extending between said support rods adjacent said hook portions thereof and said lower spacer member extending between said support rods at the ends thereof opposite said hook portions, said positioning assembly including a strut pivotally attached to said lower spacer bar and a brace connecting the outer extending portion of said strut with said upper spacer bar;

said carriage plate hoving a generally rectangular configuration and curved portions at each end thereof for respectively engaging said upper and lower spacer bars, said carriage plate defining a pair of spaced, parallel recesses extending generally vertically along the length of the carriage plate and a plurality of spaced, generally vertically aligned apertures through said carriage board along each of said recesses, each of said apertures in one of said recesses horizontally aligned with one of said apertures in the other of said recesses;

a seat structure mountable on said support structure including a molded unitary seat having a bottom portion and a back portion for receiving a child in seated position and an undercarriage for selectively connecting said seat to said support structure;

said undercarriage including a pair of spaced generally parallel L-shaped tubular members having a generally vertical leg and a generally horizontal leg, said generally vertical leg being attached to said back portion and said generally horizontal leg being attached to said bottom. portion; and a pair of cylindrical hangers, each of said hangers being slidably insertable in said generally vertical legs of said L-shaped members, said hangers having detent means selectively engageable in any one of a plurality of alignment holes defined through said vertical leg, and having a hook portion selectively engageable with any one of said apertures through said carriage plate to support said heat structure thereon, said generally vertical leg of each of said L-shaped members having a configuration for resting in said recesses to maintain said seat structure laterally on said support structure; and

a head rest detachably connected to said support structure for receiving and supporting the childs head during shampooing and constructed and arranged to discharge shampooing fluids from said childs head into said receptacle.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said carriage plate defines flange means extending between said upper and lower spacer members to maintain said spacer bars in a spaced relationship.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further including retaining means attached to the lower ends of said support rods to maintain said lower spacer bar in position on said support rods.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Faerber 4--15 9 Holmes 4159 Sadler 29725 6 Kibbe 29 725 6 McClure 41 5 9 8 2/ 1965 Spooner 29725 6 V 6/1966 Suuronen 297254 12/1966 Turrnenne et a1. 4159 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

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