EP1616520B1

EP1616520B1 - Adjustable toilet hinge arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP1616520B1
Application number: EP05388054A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Martin Wiig
Original assignee: Pressalit Group AS
Current assignee: Pressalit Group AS
Priority date: 2004-07-12
Filing date: 2005-06-29
Publication date: 2009-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-29
Also published as: EP1616520A3; DK200401100A; EP1616520A2; DK176340B1; ATE421861T1; DE602005012559D1

Abstract

Toilet hinge arrangement (1) including a base member (2), a shaft member (7) extending upwardly from the base member, and a mounting hole (10) provided in the base member. The base member (2) includes a circular shaft hole (9) extending from the lower face (3) of the base member to the upper face (21) of the base member, and being provided with an inner downwardly facing contact face (11) spaced apart from the lower face of the base member. Spaced apart from its lower end, the shaft member (7) is provided with an upwardly facing contact face (12) abutting the downwardly facing contact face (11) of the shaft hole in a locking position, whereby the shaft member can be retained in the shaft hole of the base member between the downwardly facing contact face (11) and the surface (19) of the toilet bowl, when the base member is fastened to the toilet bowl.

Description

The invention relates to a toilet hinge arrangement for adjustable fastening of a toilet cover assembly including a toilet seat and/or a cover to a toilet bowl provided with an intended fastening hole such that the toilet cover assembly may pivot about a substantially horizontal hinge axis, said toilet hinge arrangement including a base member having a lower face adapted to abut the upper face of the toilet bowl, a shaft member extending upwardly from the base member and comprising hinge means for the toilet cover assembly, a mounting hole in the base member spaced apart from the axis of the shaft member and through which a bolt shank may be inserted for reception in the fastening hole of the toilet bowl with a view to securing the toilet hinge arrangement to the toilet bowl.
Usually two such arrangements are used for fastening the toilet cover assembly to allow it to pivot about a substantially horizontal hinge axis between an upright open position and a lowered position, in which the toilet cover assembly rests on the rim of the toilet bowl. Toilet bowls are usually provided with two interspaced fastening holes with vertical hole axes and in which a mounting bolt for the toilet hinge arrangement may be secured. The space between these fastening holes may vary according to different norms or tolerance errors. It is thus desirable that the toilet hinge arrangement has some degree of adjustability. Other objects of having adjustable toilet hinge arrangements are to ensure of free pivotal movement of the toilet cover assembly, an aesthetically optimum arrangement of the toilet cover assembly in relation to the bowl and the desire for minimum play.
EP 1 399 050 discloses a hinge assembly of the above type, in which the mounting hole is shaped as an oblong slot provided in a bottom plate being pivotally retained in the base member. The slot allows for high adjustability of the position of the toilet hinge arrangement on the bowl. One drawback of this assembly is, however, that the shaft member, which is provided with a hinge pin spaced apart from the base member and extending horizontally when mounted, is firmly welded to the base member. It is thus not possible to pivotally adjust the shaft member in relation to the base member, which limits the adjustment options considerably.
The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved toilet hinge arrangement of the above type, which in addition to offering excellent adjustment options is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
According to the invention the object is obtained in that the shaft member is releasably retained in a shaft hole provided in the base member and extending from the lower face of the base member to the upper face of the base member and being provided with an inner downwardly facing contact face spaced apart from the lower face of the base member, and that spaced apart from its lower end the shaft member is provided with an upwardly facing contact face abutting the downwardly facing contact face of the shaft hole when the shaft member has been moved from a non-locking position to a locking position by being moved in direction of the upper face of the base member through the hole, whereby the shaft member may be retained in the shaft hole of the base member between the downwardly facing contact of the shaft hole and the surface of the bowl, when the base member is fastened to the bowl. As a result excellent adjustment options are obtained in a simple manner, the base member being pivotal about the bolt inserted through the mounting hole and the hinge pin being adjusted to a correct position in relation to the toilet cover assembly at the same time. The shaft member and the shaft hole may be dimensioned such in relation to each other that friction, which only can be overcome by using force, retains the pivotal position of the hinge pin. Such a structure is furthermore particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
According to a preferred embodiment, the outer face of the shaft member and the interior of the shaft hole include co-acting locking surfaces which in the locking position of the shaft member engage each other and thus prevent the shaft member from rotating in relation to the base member. A fixed orientation of the hinge members of the shaft member in the mounted state of the toilet hinge arrangement is thus ensured in a simple manner, whereby play and the risk of unintentional release of the toilet cover assembly from the hinge members is reduced.
According to a preferred embodiment the locking faces are provided as complementary projections and recesses on/in the inner face of the shaft hole and on/in the outer face of the shaft member. Preferably, a plurality of the recesses is provided to increase the possibilities of adjusting the shaft member accurately in the desired position. As an example at least ten, preferably at least twenty recesses are provided. The number of projections need not be as high as the number of recesses.
According to a particular simple embodiment the complementary projections and recesses are substantially serrated. As a result, a particularly simple option for fine adjusting the pivotal position of the shaft member in relation to the base member is obtained.
According to an embodiment the complementary projections and recesses may be provided on/in the downwardly facing contact face of the shaft hole and on/in the upwardly facing contact face of the shaft member.
According to an optional embodiment the complementary projections and recesses may be provided on/in a shaft hole wall extending parallel to shaft hole axis and in/on a surface of the shaft member extending parallel to the shaft member axis. The projections and the recesses may either be provided above the downwardly facing contact face of the shaft hole and above the upwardly facing contact face of the shaft member or below the downwardly facing contact face of the shaft hole and below the upwardly facing contact face of the shaft member.
Instead of projections and recesses the shaft member may have a polygonal cross section in an area and the shaft hole may have a corresponding polygonal cross section. The areas with a polygonal cross section are provided either above or below the contact faces. The polygonal cross sections may for instance be hexagonal, but it is preferred that they have several more edges, the adjustment options thus being increased. 12 or more edges are thus advantageous.
According to an embodiment spaced apart from the base member the shaft member can include a hinge pin extending horizontally when mounted and determining a hinge axis for the toilet cover assembly. The shaft member may thus include a circular rod, eg. of stainless steel, which is bent 90° to form the shaft member.
According to a preferred embodiment the mounting hole in the base member is shaped as an oblong mounting slot. The adjustment options are thus further increased. Maximum adjustment options are obtained, if the oblong mounting slot is oriented such that its longitudinal axis extending parallel to the lower face of the base member intersects the shaft member hole, preferably the centre thereof.
Preferably, the base member is shaped as a circular disc in which the shaft hole is spaced apart from the centre of the disc. The maximum adjustment option in the horizontal plane is obtained, when the shaft hole is placed adjacent the periphery of the disc and the mounting disc extends from a position adjacent the shaft hole to a position adjacent the periphery of the disc being diametrically opposite the shaft hole.
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawing, in which

Fig. 1 shows a toilet cover assembly including a toilet seat and a toilet cover being secured to a diagrammatically shown toilet bowl by means of two toilet hinge arrangements according to the invention,
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the toilet hinge arrangement and the toilet cover assembly in Fig. 1,
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the toilet hinge arrangement according to the invention,
Fig. 4 is an expanded perspective view of the toilet hinge arrangement,
Fig. 5 an expanded perspective view of the toilet hinge arrangement - seen from a different angle,
Fig. 6 is an inclined top view of the base member of the toilet hinge arrangement,
Fig. 7 is an inclined bottom view of the base member and
Fig. 8 is an inclined top view of the shaft member.

Fig. 1 illustrates how a conventional toilet cover assembly 15, which includes a toilet seat 16 and a toilet cover 17, is pivotally fastened to a flange on a toilet bowl 18 by means of two toilet hinge arrangements 1. The toilet bowl 18 is only shown diagrammatically as a rectangular plate for reasons of clarity. The seat 16 and the cover 17 may pivot between the shown horizontal position, in which the seat 16 rests on the toilet bowl and the cover 17 rests on the seat, and a vertical position, in which the cover and optionally the seat 16 rest(s) on a cistern or wall (not shown).
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the toilet hinge arrangement 1, the toilet cover assembly 15 and the flange of the toilet bowl 18 in the mounted state shown in Fig. 1. The toilet hinge arrangement 1 includes a disc-shaped base member 2 and a shaft member 7 extending upwardly therefrom. The shaft member 7 is bent 90° and thus defines a horizontally extending hinge pin 8 (confer Fig. 3). The hinge pin defines a horizontal axis of rotation for the toilet seat 16 and the toilet cover 17. The toilet seat 16 is provided with an eye member 26 circumscribing the hinge pin 8. The toilet seat 16 and the toilet cover 17 may thus pivot about the hinge pin 8. The base member 2 of the toilet hinge arrangement is secured to the toilet bowl 18 by means of a bolt 4. The bolt 4 has been inserted through an oblong slot 10 in the base member 2 and through a fastening hole 22 in the toilet bowl 18. The slot 10 is too narrow for the bolt head to enter therethrough, but the slot is provided with an upper portion 23 which is sufficiently wide to receive the bolt head. The bolt head thus abuts the rim downwardly defining the upper portion 23 of the slot 10. By means of a nut 5 and a washer 6 inserted on the lower face of the flange of the toilet bowl 18, the bolt thus retains the base member 2 to the upper face 19 of the toilet bowl 18. A casing 20 covers the slot and the associated bolt.
The position of the toilet hinge arrangement 1 is adjustable in the horizontal plane by displacing the base member 2 in the longitudinal direction of the slot 10 in relation to the bolt 4 and by rotating the base member 2 about the bolt 4. The pivot position of the shaft member 7 and thus the orientation of the non-visible hinge pin 8 may be adjusted according to the manner in which the shaft member 7 is secured to the base member 2, as described in details below.
Fig. 3 shows a toilet hinge arrangement according to the invention including the base member 2 and the shaft member 7 extending upwardly therefrom. In the shown embodiment the base member 2 is shaped as a circular disc and the hinge member 7 extends upwardly from the base member 2 at a distance from the centre of the disc. As described above, the shaft member 7 includes a horizontally extending hinge pin 8. The slot is not visible in Fig. 3 due to the casing 20.
Fig. 4 is an expanded perspective view of the toilet hinge arrangement. The three separate parts, viz. the base member 2, the casing 20 and the shaft member 7, are thus visible. As can be seen, the casing 20 is circular with a circumferential skirt and a circular arc-shaped cut 28. The circular arc-shaped cut 28 extends over less than 180° of the circumference of the casing. As a result, the casing 20 can only be removed from the base member 2 by being vertically lifted off. When mounted, the casing 20 is retained on the base member 2 by simple frictional interference fit. The casing 20 and the base member 2 may, however, also be provided with suitable snap fasteners, eg. in form of a projection on the inner face of the casing 20 and a correspondingly shaped recess in the base member 2.
Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show the parts of the toilet hinge arrangement from different angles. In the shown embodiment the base member 2 is made of injection-moulded plastics and the casing 20 is made of stainless steel. The vertical part of the shaft member 7 and the horizontally extending hinge pin 8 are integrally made from stainless steel, while the base 24 of the shaft member is made of plastics being moulded with the shaft member. The height of the base 24 corresponds to the height of the base member 2. As particularly evident in Figs. 4 and 8, the base 24 is provided with an upwardly facing contact face 12 extending along the entire circumference of the base. The contact face 12 is provided with upwardly facing, serrated projections 14. In the shown embodiment, four projections 14 with an interspacing of 90° are used, but more or fewer projections 14 may be used. Fig. 7 shows the base member 2 from below. The lower face 3 of the base member is adapted to abut the upper face 19 of the toilet bowl. A shaft member hole 9 is adapted to receive the base 24 of the shaft member 7. As it can be seen, the shaft member hole 9 has a downwardly facing contact face 11 with serrated recesses, the geometry of which corresponding substantially to the serrated projections 14. A plurality of recesses 13 is provided along the entire contact face 11. In the shown embodiment, about 20 recesses are used, but this quantity may of course vary. Just before the toilet hinge arrangement is mounted on the toilet bowl, the shaft member 7 is inserted through the shaft member hole 9. The hinge pin 8 of the shaft member 7 is positioned in the desired orientation in relation to the base member 2, before the base 24 of the shaft member is completely inserted in the shaft member hole 9, whereby the projections 14 are made to engage the recesses 13. As a result, the lower face of the base 24 is substantially in the same plane as the lower face 3 of the base member 2. The base member can thus be secured to the toilet bowl by inserting the mounting bolt 4 shown in Fig. 2 through the slot 10 and subsequently through the fastening hole 22 in the toilet bowl. The washer 6 and the nut 5 are then placed on the end of the bolt 4 projecting below the flange of the toilet bowl. The base member 2 is positioned in the desired position before the nut 5 is completely tightened. After the fastening, the casing 20 may be positioned on the base member 2 such that the slot 10 and the head of the bolt 4 are concealed.
The shaft member with the angular hinge pin 8 may be inserted effortlessly through the shaft member hole 9 due to the diameter of the base 24 and the shaft member hole 9, said diameter exceeding the diameter of the portion of the shaft member extending above the base member 2.
Adjacent its free end the hinge pin 8 is provided with a circumferential recess 25 which serves to fasten the hinge members of the toilet cover assembly in such a manner that these are not easily displaced in relation to the hinge pin 8 in the longitudinal direction of the pin.
The invention is not restricted to the above embodiment. All parts may thus be made of plastics or metal, especially stainless steel. The shaft member 7 does not need to be provided with the angular hinge pin 8, but may be designed such to exclusively extend vertically and may at its end be provided with means allowing for mounting of additional separate hinge members on the shaft member 7, said hinge members defining a horizontal hinge axis.
In the shown embodiment, the hinge member 7 is provided with upwardly facing projections 14 and the shaft member hole 9 is provided with correspondingly shaped recesses. However, the reverse situation may also be the case, ie. the hinge member 7 may be provided with recesses and the shaft member hole 9 may be provided with projections. Similarly, the projections and the recesses may have a different design than the shown serrated shape.
The shown embodiment offers excellent adjustment options in that the shaft member may be secured at a distance from the mounting hole of the toilet bowl, said distance being within the distance between the shaft member hole 9 and the closest and remotest end of the slot 10, respectively. According to another embodiment, instead of being provided with an oblong mounting slot 10 the base member may be provided with a simple circular mounting hole. In this case, the shaft member can be secured in an arbitrary position along a circle about the mounting hole of the toilet bowl, said circle having a radius corresponding to the distance between the shaft member hole 9 and the mounting hole 10.
According to an alternative embodiment, the base 24 may have a polygonal cross section in the area above or below its contact face 12. In this case, the shaft hole 9 is to have a corresponding polygonal cross section in the area above or below its contact face 11.
According to yet another alternative embodiment, the base 24 and the shaft hole 9 may be conical or have conical areas with a tapering in the direction of the upper face of the base member.
The base is preferably retained in the shaft hole by a light interference fit such that the angular adjustment is retained prior to the fastening to the toilet bowl. Optionally, the base member may include a releasable bottom plate which is secured to the lower face of the base member and thus retains the shaft member in the locking position.

List of reference numerals

1: toilet hinge arrangement
2: base member
3: lower face of the base member
4: bolt
5: nut
6: disc
7: shaft member
8: hinge pin
9: shaft hole for the shaft member
10: mounting slot
11: downwardly facing contact face in the shaft hole
12: upwardly facing contact face on the shaft member
13: serrated recesses in the downwardly facing contact face in holes
14: serrated projections on the upwardly facing contact face on the shaft member
15: toilet cover assembly
16: toilet seat
17: toilet cover
18: toilet bowl
19: upper face of the toilet bowl
20: casing
21: upper face of the base member
22: fastening hole in the toilet bowl
23: upper area of the mounting slot
24: base on the shaft member
25: circumferential recess
26: eye member on the toilet seat
27: eye member on the toilet cover
28: circular arc-shaped cut in the casing

Claims

Toilet hinge arrangement (1) for adjustable fastening of a toilet cover assembly (15) including a toilet seat (16) and/or a toilet cover (17) to a toilet bowl (18) provided with an intended fastening hole (22) such that the toilet cover assembly may pivot about a substantially horizontal hinge axis, said toilet hinge arrangement including:
- a base member (2) having a lower face (3) adapted to abut the upper face (19) of the toilet bowl,

- a shaft member (7) extending upwardly from the base member and comprising hinge means (8) for the toilet cover assembly,

- a mounting hole (10) in the base member spaced apart from the axis of the shaft member (7) and through which a shank of a bolt (4) may be inserted for reception in the fastening hole (22) of the toilet bowl with a view to securing the toilet hinge arrangement to the toilet bowl,
characterised in that the shaft member (7) is releasably retained in a shaft hole (9) provided in the base member (2) and extending from the lower face (3) of the base member to the upper face (21) of the base member and being provided with an inner downwardly facing contact face (11) spaced apart from the lower face of the base member, and that spaced apart from its lower end the shaft member (7) is provided with an upwardly facing contact face (12) abutting the downwardly facing contact face (11) of the shaft hole when the shaft member has been moved from a non-locking position to a locking position by being moved in direction of the upper face of the base member through the shaft hole, whereby the shaft member may be retained in the shaft hole of the base member between the downwardly facing contact face (11) of the shaft hole and the surface (19) of the toilet bowl, when the base member is fastened to the bowl.
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the outer face of the shaft member (7) and the interior of the shaft hole (9) include co-acting locking surfaces (13, 14) which in the locking position of the shaft member engage each other and thus prevent the shaft member from rotating in relation to the base member (2).
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the locking surfaces are provided by means of complementary projections (14) and recesses (13) on/in the inner face of the shaft hole (9) and on/in the outer face of the shaft member (7).
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the complementary projections (14) and recesses (13) are substantially serrated.
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the complementary projections (14) and recesses (13) are provided on/in the downwardly facing contact face (11) of the shaft hole (9) and on/in the upwardly facing contact face (12) of the shaft member (7).
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the complementary projections (14) and recesses (13) are provided on/in a shaft hole wall extending parallel to the shaft hole axis and on/in a surface of the shaft member (7) extending parallel to the shaft member axis.
Toilet hinge arrangement (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the co-acting locking surfaces are obtained by providing the shaft member (7) with a polygonal cross section in an area and providing the shaft hole (9) with corresponding polygonal cross section.
Toilet hinge arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that spaced apart from the base member (2) the shaft member (7) includes a hinge pin (8) extending horizontally when mounted and determining a hinge axis for the toilet cover assembly (15).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the mounting hole is shaped as an oblong mounting slot (10).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the base member (2) is shaped as a circular disc in which the shaft hole (9) is spaced apart from the centre of the disc.