EP2661205B1

EP2661205B1 - Toilet hinge arrangement

Info

Publication number: EP2661205B1
Application number: EP11804490.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Henrik Pedersen; Morten Rathke
Original assignee: Pressalit AS
Current assignee: Pressalit AS
Priority date: 2011-01-03
Filing date: 2011-12-23
Publication date: 2016-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-23
Also published as: WO2012092930A3; WO2012092930A2; DK201100193U3; EP2661205A2; CA2823566A1

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a toilet hinge arrangement for releasably fastening of a toilet cover assembly including a toilet seat and/or a toilet cover to a toilet bowl so that the toilet cover assembly can pivot about a substantially horizontal rotation axis.

Background of the Invention

In the art it is well-known to provide toilet hinge arrangement which allows the toilet cover and seat to be dismounted from the toilet bowl in order to improve cleaning procedures and thereby increase the hygiene. Furthermore, it is also known in the art to use dampeners whereby it is possible by means of the dampener to delay the motion of the toilet cover and/or seat when closing the cover or seat whereby a relatively slow and noiseless closing of the seat and/or cover is achieved. An example of such a prior art device is illustrated in EP 1532913 , which discloses a dampener embedded in a hinge arrangement comprising the features of the preamble of claim 1.
The dampener is enclosed in a sleeve, such that the dampener cannot rotate relative to the fastening means to the ceramics (toilet). The opposite end of the dampener is fixed to a ring-shaped eye part being part of the toilet seat or cover.
A common problem, however, is how to assemble these hinge arrangements in a suitable manner, both from a factory perspective as well as from a maintenance perspective in that it might be desirable to replace one or the other part. In these situations prior art devices do not facilitate disassembling of the hinge arrangements once they are mounted.

Object of the Invention

Consequently it is an object of the present invention to provide an easy to assemble hinge arrangement which may also be disassembled in order to carry out maintenance works such as for example replace the dampener, replace the seat and/or a cover and the like.

Description of the Invention

The invention addresses this by providing a toilet hinge arrangement according to claim 1. Said toilet hinge arrangement is configured for releasable fastening of a toilet cover assembly, including a toilet seat and/or a toilet cover, to a toilet bowl, so that the toilet cover assembly can pivot about a substantially horizontal rotation axis, where one or more dampeners are activated for dampening a downward movement of said toilet seat and/or cover, said toilet hinge arrangement includes a base member with a lower side adapted to abut the surface of the toilet bowl, where said base member has a shaft member projecting upwards from the base member, said shaft being suitable to releasably engage a hinge part
With this arrangement is achieved that the various parts of the hinge arrangement are assembled around the dampener and assembled in such a manner that it by means of the engagement means built into the dampener and the engagement part is possible relatively easy to disengage and thereby disassemble the entire hinge arrangement.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the second ring-shaped connection eye comprises one or more locking surfaces arranged as interior surfaces, where said surfaces engage corresponding surfaces on the free end of the dampener body; and where further a bearing
surface is provided inside said second ring-shaped connection eye, which bearing surface abuts, guides
and supports an outer periphery of the dampener body.
By providing locking surfaces in the second ring-shaped connection eye to which the free end of the
dampener abuts the transfer of force from the cover/seat of the toilet cover assembly is safely transferred to the shaft and base member and thereby to the toilet bowl. Typically, it will be possible to provide relatively large locking surfaces in order to distribute the pressure to as large a surface as possible. Furthermore, the bearing surface for supporting the dampener is also provided whereby the load from the first and second ring-shaped connector eyes will not solely be borne by the locking surfaces and the dampener, but will also be transferred via the dampener body by means of the bearing surfaces to the engagement part and therefore through the base member to the toilet bowl. In this manner the dampener as such is only exposed to a minimum load which decreases wear and tear on this member.
In a further advantageous embodiment the first fastening means are arranged in said
one or more locking surfaces.
The second fastening means will typically be resilient means which at the first end of the dampener is pushed into the engagement part which by click-action will engage and lock the dampener in position relative to the engagement part such that it takes a relatively large force to withdraw the dampener from the engagement part. In this connection, however, it should be noted that there are no screws, rivets or the like used in order to maintain a fixed relationship between the first end of the dampener and the engagement part, but solely a resilient mechanism which locks and fixates the first end of the dampener relative to the engagement part.
Hereby the first end of the dampener is provided with means complimentary to said second fastening means. In this manner it is possible to design a first end of the dampener in such a way that it will possibly interact with the second fastening means and thereby increase the holding force whereby the dampener will be further maintained in a relatively fixed position relative to the engagement part.
In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention the second ring-shaped connection eye is provided with a closed side, such that said second ring-shaped connection eye will be in the shape of a cup, and that a shaft is provided, projecting from the bottom of the cup, where said shaft is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding cavity in the free end of the dampener.
The shaft of the cup serves to help stabilize and guide the dampener.
When using the hinge arrangement according to the invention in order to mount a toilet cover assembly including a toilet seat and a toilet cover usually two toilet hinge arrangements are used, namely one in either side of the toilet cover assembly. In order to create the correct dampening effect, i.e. having dampening of the seat and cover respectively, the dampeners in the two assemblies are arranged such that they rotate in opposite directions, but by mounting them in a mirror image manner they will be able to dampen the movement of the seat respectively the cover in the same direction, i.e. going from a substantially vertical position into a substantially horizontal position.
By providing the shaft projecting from the second ring-shaped connection with a specific cross section it is possible also to provide various dampeners with different cross sections such that it will only be possible to mount a dampener in a second ring-shaped connection eye having the corresponding cross-sectional shape. In practice, circular cross sections are used for left-hand-side hinge arrangements whereas square cross-sectional shapes are used for right-hand-side hinge arrangements. In this manner it is ensured that the correct type of dampener is mounted in the correct side of the toilet cover assembly. Therefore, the cross-sectional configuration of the shaft and the corresponding cavity in the free end of the dampener may take any geometric configuration other than the ones mentioned above, i.e. circular or square, such as for example triangular, star-shaped or any other suitable shape which provides the same advantages.
In a still further advantageous embodiment a shim is inserted around the dampener, between the first and second ring-shaped connection eyes, and where the second ring
shaped connection eye is provided with an interior recess for accommodating at least part of said shim, and where said shim has an aperture corresponding to the outer shape of the dampener, and furthermore where means for accommodating and transferring rotation from said shim to said second ring-shaped connection.
In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention a cover is provided where said cover, being in the shape of a cylinder having a closed end, where the interior dimensions of said cup correspond to the exterior dimensions of said engagement part, where an aperture is provided in the cylinder wall, allowing the shaft of the base member to engage with the engagement member. The purpose of the cover is partly to provide a nice finish to the toilet hinge arrangement, but also to hide the second fastening means arranged in the engagement part such that tampering or unintended release of the second fastening means and thereby disassembly of the entire toilet hinge arrangement is avoided. As it is important to superpose the aperture in the cylinder wall with the cavity in the engagement part into which the shaft of the base member is inserted, alignment means between the engagement part and the cover may be provided such that the aperture provided in the cover is superposed the opening in the engagement part.
The invention is furthermore also directed to a toilet hinge construction as described above comprising a dampener, where said dampener has an axis of rotation and is further particular in that it comprises a first end rotatable relative to a dampener body, said first end is rotatably arranged to said dampener body around
the dampeners axis of rotation, and wherein the dampener body comprises an outer wall in which at least one resilient fastening member is arranged, and where rotation of the first end is dampened relative to the body, and where the resilient fastening member is biased radially away from the dampeners
axis of rotation, and where one or more indentations are provided adjacent a distal end of the dampeners first end, where the one or more indentation(s) are suitable for being engaged by
engagement means.
Naturally, the special damper mentioned in the embodiment above will make it feasible to utilize the advantages of the invention as described above.
In a method of assembling a toilet hinge arrangement as described above, due to the inventive fastening means of the damper in the toilet
hinge arrangement, assembling is very smooth and carried out in such a way that very few operations are necessary in order to assemble the toilet hinge arrangement. Furthermore, by implementing certain of the features above, a fully automatic assembly may be achieved.

Description of the Drawing

Figure 1 illustrates a toilet hinge arrangement according to the invention
Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of the main components of the invention
Figure 3 illustrates a cross section through a hinge arrangement
Figure 4 illustrates a dampener according to an embodiment of the invention
Figure 5 illustrates an exploded view of a complete embodiment
Figure 6 illustrates a detailed view of the engagement part.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In figure 1 is illustrated a toilet hinge arrangement according to the invention. The toilet hinge arrangement 1 will typically be used in pairs such that a toilet hinge arrangement will be provided in each side of the seat/cover as is well known in the art. The toilet hinge arrangement 1 comprises a base member 2 which in this embodiment by means of anchors 3 may be fastened to a toilet bowl.
For clarity reasons neither the toilet bowl nor the seat or cover are illustrated. The base member 2 is provided with shaft 4, which shaft is inserted in the hinge part 5. As will be explained with reference to figure 2 the base member including the shaft is detachably fastened to the hinge part 5.
The hinge part 5 comprises an engagement part 10, a first ring-shaped connection eye 20 and a second ring-shaped connection eye 30.
Turning to figure 2 an exploded view of the main components of the invention as well as a few details relating to the base member are illustrated. The base member in this embodiment comprises three disc-shaped parts 2', 2", 2'" where 2"' is a resilient gasket interposed between a metal part 2" and the toilet bowl (not illustrated) which is usually made from a ceramic material, whereby the resilient material of the gasket 2'" separates two hard materials. The metal part 2" is provided with a shaft 4 for engagement with the engagement part 10 as explained above. In order to detachably attach
the hinge arrangement 5 the shaft is provided with a resilient spring 6 and a rubber seal 7 (O-ring). The resilient spring 6 serves to detachably lock the engagement part 10 to the shaft 4 and the rubber ring 7 serves to dampen and also fasten the aperture in the engagement part to the shaft 4. The cover plate 2" may be made from any suitable material and serves to cover the metal part 2" of the base member where also screws may be used in order to fasten the base member to the toilet bowl.
In the exploded view the dampener 40 is visible between the engagement part 10 and the first ring-shaped connection eye 20. The interior diameter 21 of the first ring-shaped connecting eye has a size which accommodates the body 41 of the dampener 40. The first end 42 of the dampener which is rotatable relative to the body part 41 is engaged with the engagement part 10 such that the engagement part 10 such that the engagement part 10 and the first end of the dampener 42 cannot rotate relative to each other. The special click-features of the dampener 40 will be explained with reference to figure 4.
In this embodiment the hinge arrangement 5 includes a shim 50 interposed between the first ring shaped connection eye and the second ring-shaped connection eye.
Turning to figure 3 a cross section through a hinge arrangement 5 according to the invention is illustrated. From the cross section is evident that the shaft 4 is arranged in the engagement part 10 such that the hinge part 5 is in a position illustrated with reference to figure 1. The dampener 40 is engaged in its first end 42 by means 11 which means 11 are biased/urged for firm engagement against the first end of the dampener. The means 11 are resilient such that as the engagement part 10 comes into contact with the first end of the dampener 40 the means 11 will click into contact with the first end
and lock the first end to the engagement part 10. The dampener is provided with means 43 (see figures 2 and 4) complementary to the fastening means 11 such that the first end of the dampener 42 will be maintained in a firm grip/position relative to the engagement part 10.
The second ring-shaped connection eye 30 is in this embodiment provided with a sidewall 31 such that the second ring-shaped connecting eye 30 is in the shape of a cup. From the bottom of the cup projects a shaft 32 into a cavity 44 provided in the free end of the dampener 40 such that the shaft 32 will help to stabilize and guide the dampener 40 relative to the hinge construction 5. In order to ensure that the correct dampener is inserted in the correct side relative to the way the seat and cover shall be mounted the cross section of the shaft 32 and the cavity 44 may be given a particular shape such as for example square as illustrated with reference to figure 4 a circular, oval or any other desirable shape.
Turning to figure 4 a dampener according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The dampener is provided with means 43 on the first end for engagement with the means 11 of the engagement part in order to fixate the dampener relative to the engagement part 10. Furthermore, flexible resilient first fastening means 45 are provided in the body of the dampener 40 such that as the dampener is inserted into the second ring-shaped connection eye, the fastening means 45 will be triggered and due to the resiliency of the member will expand into a corresponding cavity 46 provided inside the second ring-shaped connection eye. In this manner the dampener 40 will be locked into engagement with the second ring-shaped connection eye 30.
After both the engagement part and the second ring-shaped connection eye have been attached to the dampener the first ring-shaped connection eye will be free to pivot about a pivot axis coaxial with the rotation axis of the dampener without being influenced by the dampener as such. Only the second ring-shaped connection eye, for example attached to a toilet seat or toilet cover will be influenced by the dampener such that the movement of said toilet seat or cover will be dampened.
Turning to figure 5 an exploded view of a complete embodiment is illustrated where a cover 60 is provided where said cover has a dimension such that it will be able to cover the engagement part 10 and thereby hinder unintended tampering with the fastening means 11 which could cause unintended disassembly of the hinge construction 5. The cover 60 is provided with an aperture 61 which is use coincides with the aperture 12 (see figure 3) which accommodates the shaft 4.
In fig. 6 is illustrated a view into the interior of the second ring-shaped eye 30. The tap 32, in this
embodiment having a round cross-section is situated substantially centrally in the cavity for accommodating the dampener 40. The locking surfaces 47 are arranged as part of the interior surfaces in the cavity formed in the second ring-shaped eye 30 designed to receive
the free end of the dampener body 41. Furthermore the bearing surfaces 49 are also
illustrated.
Also partly visible in fig 6 is the shim 50. The shim 50 is inserted around the dampener 40, between the first and second ring-shaped connection eyes 20,30, and the second ring
shaped connection eye 30 is provided with an interior recess 52 for accommodating at
least part of said shim 50. The shim 50 has an aperture 53 corresponding to the outer shape of the dampener 40, such that the shim may be arranged outside the dampener. Furthermore, means 54 for accommodating and transferring rotation from said shim 50 to said second ring-shaped connection eye 30 is provided between said shim 50 and
the second ring-shaped connection eye 30.
Above the invention has been explained with reference to a particular embodiment, but it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the scope of the invention is only to be limited by the appended claims.
In particular embodiments where the toilet seat and cover are not releasably fastened to the toilet ceramics are also to be contemplated within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

Toilet hinge arrangement (1) for fastening of a toilet cover assembly, including a toilet seat and/or a toilet cover, to a toilet bowl, so that the toilet cover assembly can pivot about a substantially horizontal rotation axis, where one or more dampeners (40) in the toilet hinge arrangement (1) are activated for dampening a downward movement of said toilet seat and/or cover, said toilet hinge arrangement (1) includes:
- the at least one dampener (40), said dampener having a body (41) and a first end (42) projecting from said body (41) where said first end (42) is rotatably arranged relative to the dampener body (41), where a rotation of the first end (42) is dampened relative to the body (41), and that the dampener body has a free end opposite to the first end (42);

- an engagement part (10) where said engagement part (10) has means (11) for engaging complementary means (43) on said first end (42) of said dampener (40);

- a first ring-shaped connection eye (20) either being integral with or attachable to the toilet seat or cover, having an opening such that the ring-shaped connection eye (20) is arranged about the dampener body (41);

- a second ring-shaped connection eye (30) either being integral with or attachable to the toilet seat or cover, having means (46) for engaging the free end of said dampener body (41) in a non-rotatable manner, characterised in that said dampener (40) is provided with first flexible and resilient fastening means (45) adjacent the free end of the dampener body (41), in that
said second ring shaped
connection eye (30) is provided with means (46) for accommodating and firmly engaging said dampener's first flexible and resilient fastening means (45);
and in that said means (11) of the engagement part (10) are second fastening means (11) which second fastening means (11) are resilient and biased, such that the second fastening means firmly engage said first end (42) of the dampener (40) where both first and second fastening means (45, 11) maintain the dampener (40) in fixed
relationship to the engagement part (10) and said second ring shaped connection eye (30) axially along the rotation axis.
Toilet hinge arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the second ring-shaped connection eye (30) comprises one or more locking surfaces (47) arranged as interior surfaces, where said surfaces (47) engage corresponding surfaces (48) on the free end
of the dampener body (41); and where further a bearing surface (49) is provided inside said second ring-shaped connection eye (30), which bearing surface (49) abuts, guides and supports an outer periphery (51) of the dampener body (41).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the first fastening means (45) are arranged in said one or more locking surfaces (47).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to any preceding claim characterised in that the second ring-shaped connection eye (30) is provided with a closed side (31), such that said second ring-shaped connection eye (30) will be in the shape of a cup, and that a shaft (32) is provided, projecting from the bottom of the cup, where said shaft (32) is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding cavity in the free end of the dampener (40).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to claim 1 wherein a shim (50) is inserted around the dampener (40), between the first and second ring-shaped connection eyes (20,30), and where the second ring shaped connection eye (30) is provided with an interior recess (52) for accommodating at least part of said shim (50), and where said shim (50) has an aperture (53) corresponding to the outer shape of the dampener (40), and furthermore where means (54) for accommodating and transferring rotation from said shim (50) to said second ring-shaped connection eye (30) is provided between said shim (50) and said second ring-shaped connection eye (30).
Toilet hinge arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a cover (60) is provided, said cover (60) being in the shape of a cylinder having a closed end, where interior dimensions of said cover correspond to exterior dimensions of said engagement part (10), where an aperture (61) is provided in the cylinder wall, allowing the shaft (4) of the base member (2) to engage with the engagement member (10).
A toilet hinge arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said dampener (40) having an axis of rotation and comprising a first end (42) rotatable relative to the dampener body (41), said
first end is rotatably arranged to said dampener body around the dampeners axis of rotation, and that the dampener body comprises an outer wall in which at least one resilient fastening member is arranged, where the rotation of the first end (42) is dampened relative to the body (41),, where said resilient fastening member (45) is biased radially away from the dampeners axis of rotation, and where one or more indentations (43) are provided adjacent the distal end of the dampeners first end (42), where the one or more
indentation(s) (43) are suitable for being engaged by engagement means.