Technical Field

The invention relates to a galvanic bath for assisting in the treatment of muscle and circulatory disorders for use in physical therapy applications.

Background Art

Galvanic baths are used for their pain-relieving and blood circulation-increasing effects, as well as for taking advantage of the the heating and massaging effects of water. In particular, they are used in advance of an orthopedic rehabilitation to make the subsequent treatment process more painless and comfortable for both the upper and lower extremities. The present disclosure relates to a galvanic bath as described herein.

In galvanic baths employed in the prior art, the electrodes are disposed on the surface of the tubs and there are no safeguards to prevent contact by patients. When a hand or foot of a patient comes into contact with an electrode, the patient may experience a discomfort, such as a pain, a burn, etc.

The galvanic baths of the prior art do not comprise a chair with arms. Patients are either treated while standing, or seated on an wheelchair or an ordinary stool. This leads to a discomforting experience for patients during the course of treatment. In particular, when patients place their arms in an arm tub, they may feel pain and strain in their arms.

In literature, the US Design Application No. USD453835 discloses a bath. The said design application describes no technical features. Moreover, it is not known for what purpose the bath is used and whether it has galvanic electrodes.

Consequently, there is a need for a galvanic bath which surpasses the state of the art by overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks thereof.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is a galvanic bath that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art, and also involves further advantages.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath for assisting in the treatment of muscle and circulatory disorders for use in physical therapy applications.

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath, wherein the electrodes are hidden inside the walls of the bath in order to prevent any contact with skin of the people being treated and increase the level of safety.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath that increases the comfort level of the person in treatment, thanks to its wheelchair with arms.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath, wherein the body and tubs of the bath are made of an antimicrobial acrylic polyester material, resulting in a hygienic and easy-to-manufacture bath.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath, wherein the bath does not have any internal galvanic current generator and wherein external galvanic current generators can be connected to the bath. Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a novel galvanic bath, wherein the galvanic bath comprises a separate whirlpool motor for each of the tubs, i.e. two arm tubs and one foot tub, enabling to place a different patient in each tub at the same time and thus allowing to admit three patients (e.g. two arm patients, and one foot patient) in the bath at the same time.

Brief Description of the Figures

The invention will now be described by referring to the attached figures, whereby the features of the invention will be understood more clearly. However, it is not intended to limit the invention to these particular embodiments. On the contrary, it is aimed to involve all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the attached claims. It should be noted that the details shown herein are only for illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and for providing the most useful and clear description of both the illustration of methods, and the principles and conceptual features of the present invention. In these drawings,

Figure - 1 is a perspective view of a galvanic bath of the present invention.

Figure - 2 is a side view of the galvanic bath of the present invention.

Figure - 3 is a alternative version of the present invention.

Figure - 4 is another alternative version of the present invention.

The drawings, which are for ensuring a better understanding of the present invention, are numbered as shown in the attached figures, and the list and description of the said numbers is given below.

Reference Numerals

1. Galvanic bath

10. Body 11. Foot tub

12. Arm tub

13. Electrode

14. Nozzle

15. Motor

16. Valve

17.Tap

18.Control button

19.Chair area

20.Chair

21. Galvanic current generator

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, a galvanic bath (1 ) of the present invention is described by way of non-limiting examples in order to provide a better understanding of the subject-matter. In the present disclosure, the galvanic bath (1 ) for assisting in the treatment of muscle and circulatory disorders for use in physical therapy applications is disclosed.

The galvanic baths (1 ) are auxiliary treatment devices that relieve pain, muscle disorders and circulation problems in the upper and lower extremities of patients by generating and applying a galvanic current, as well as by taking advantage of the heating and massaging effects of water. In the galvanic baths (1 ), water is sprayed into tubs via nozzles (14) to utilize the massaging effect of water. Furthermore, by providing the galvanic current by means of electrodes, the curative effect of the galvanic current is taken advantage of.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the galvanic bath (1 ) of the present invention. Accordingly, the galvanic bath (1 ) is consisted of a body (10) comprising a foot tub (11 ) in its front section, and an arm tub (12) in each of its side sections. Nozzles (14) for vibrating water are provided at the bottom of both the foot tub (11 ) and the arm tubs (12). In addition, the foot tub (11 ) and the arm tubs (12) comprise the electrodes (13) for distributing the galvanic current. These electrodes are embedded inside the walls of the tubs (11 , 12). In this way, the electrodes do not come into direct contact with the skin of the patient. This embedded design of the electrodes (13) is a significant innovation and characteristic feature of the invention. In the invention, three separate whirlpool motors (15) are provided for driving the nozzles (14). In this way, each tub (11 , 12) can be operated in different modes. Thus, it is possible to administer different treatments for the right arm, the left arm, and the feet at the same time. On the body (10), a valve (16) and a tap (17) are provided for filling water into the tubs (11 , 12). Again, control buttons (18) for controlling the operation of motors (15) are provided, in which different operation modes can be set and the value of the galvanic current emitted from the electrodes (13) can be set. (Figure - 2)

In the present invention, a built-in galvanic current generator (21 ) is not provided. This constitutes another characteristic feature of the invention. However, any external galvanic current generator (21 ) can be connected to the equipment, and this fact, together with the absence of a built-in galvanic current generator (21 ), makes it possible to generate currents at different values for patients requiring different current values, thus providing a broader range of current values that can be used in the galvanic bath (1).

In the present invention, a chair area (19) is provided between the two arm tubs (12). This chair area (19) includes a chair having a number of wheels on the bottom for ease of movement, and two support arms on the sides. The chair increases the comfort level experienced by the patient during therapy.

The body (10) and the tubs (11 , 12) of the galvanic bath (1) of the present invention are made of an antimicrobial acrylic polyester material, resulting in a hygienic and easy-to-manufacture bath. One of the most significant innovations brought out by the present invention is the elimination of the possibility of any direct contact by patients with the electrodes (13). This is achieved by embedding the electrodes (13) inside the walls of the tubs (11 , 12). Alternatively, however, the electrodes (13) can be mounted so that they are not embedded in the surface of the tubs (11 , 12). In such case, the contact surfaces can be covered with a coating material to prevent any contact by patients.