EP4588416A1

EP4588416A1 - A mounting structure for line hidden smart toilets

Info

Publication number: EP4588416A1
Application number: EP24182033.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Weian QIAN; Hang YOU; Yi Li
Original assignee: Geberit International AG
Current assignee: Geberit International AG
Priority date: 2024-01-17
Filing date: 2024-06-13
Publication date: 2025-07-23
Also published as: CN221989485U

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mounting structure for (pipe-)line hidden smart toilets. The mounting structure comprises a first mounting part and a second mounting part. The first mounting part and the second mounting part are joined by at least a sliding channel unit and at least a sliding key unit matching the sliding channel unit in view of position and size. The sliding channel unit and the sliding key unit are of a segmented design. By adopting the segment-designed sliding channel unit, and the corresponding segment-designed sliding key unit, it is possible to reduce the size of the mounting holes in the toilet body, thus improving the yield rate of toilet bodies.

Description

Field of Technology

The present invention relates to the mounting structure of toilet seats, and in particular relates to the mounting structure of the toilet seat of a smart toilet.

Background Technology

Existing smart toilets need to be provided with water and power supply lines. In some designs where such lines need to be hidden, it is necessary to make holes in a toilet body to allow the water and power supply lines to extend into the toilet body and thus get hidden. The limited thickness of the toilet seat itself makes it difficult to hide the joints for the water and power supply lines within the toilet seat, therefore, it is common to extend the joints of the water and power supply lines from the toilet seat downward out of the toilet seat. However, as the joints are often rigid, and excessive deformation of the joints or the pipe or line connected to the joints may lead to leakage in water and electricity, etc., therefore, the mounting holes in the toilet body are generally made larger so as to allow the toilet seat and the water and power supply line joints to move in the mounting holes as a whole, and then to fix the toilet seat and the toilet body after moving to an appropriate position.
However, the toilet body is often of a ceramic structure, hence the larger the size of the mounting holes is, the more difficult it is to mold the ceramic structure in one piece, which then leads to a lower yield rate.

Content of Invention

One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting structure for toilet seats and toilet bodies to enhance the yield rate of toilet bodies.
Therefore, the present invention discloses a mounting structure for line hidden smart toilets. The mounting structure comprises a toilet seat and a toilet body. The toilet seat is mounted to the toilet body by the mounting structure; the mounting structure comprises a first mounting part attached to the toilet body and a second mounting part attached to the toilet seat or as part of the toilet seat; wherein, the first mounting part and the second mounting part are joined by at least a sliding channel unit and at least a sliding key unit matching the sliding channel unit in view of position and size. The sliding channel unit comprises a first sliding channel portion, a second sliding channel portion, and a hollowed portion between the first sliding channel portion and the second sliding channel portion; the sliding key unit comprises a first sliding key portion for entering the sliding channel unit from the hollowed portion and a second sliding key portion that is provided at a first distance apart from the first sliding key portion in a first direction; the first distance is greater than or equal to the size of the second sliding channel portion in the first direction; the size of the hollowed portion in the first direction is greater than or equal to the size of the first sliding key portion in the first direction.
In some embodiments, the first mounting part is provided with the sliding channel unit and the second mounting part is provided with the sliding key unit; or the second mounting part is provided with the sliding channel unit and the first mounting part is provided with the sliding key unit.
In some embodiments, the first sliding key portion and the second sliding key portion are configured such that after entering the sliding channel unit in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the first sliding key portion slides in the first direction for a second distance to join the first sliding channel portion and the second sliding key portion slides in the first direction for the second distance to join the second sliding channel portion.
In some embodiments, the toilet seat connects to the line, the toilet body provides at least a line hole that allows the line to enter and extend downward from an upper surface joining the toilet body and the toilet seat, and a total length of the sliding channel unit is greater than a size of the line hole in the first direction.
In some embodiments, half of the total length of the sliding channel unit is greater than a size of the line hole in the first direction.
In some embodiments, a size of the first sliding key portion in the first direction is smaller than a size of the second sliding key portion in the first direction.
In some embodiments, a size of the first sliding key portion in the first direction is at least twice a size of the second sliding key portion in the first direction.
In some embodiments, the first sliding channel portion is a groove with one end closed in the first direction, and the second sliding channel portion is a through groove, namely a groove with both ends open, or a groove with one end closed in the first direction.
In some embodiments, the first sliding channel portion and the second sliding channel portion both comprise an interconnected bottom, two sidewalls and a closed or unclosed top extending between the two sidewalls.
In some embodiments, the second mounting part comprises a recessed portion; the outer contour of the first mounting part has a complementary structure to the recessed portion to form a smooth outer contour when mated.
The beneficial effect of the present solution is that by adopting the sliding channel unit based on a segmented design, and the sliding key unit corresponding to the segmented design, it is possible to reduce the size of the mounting holes in the toilet body, thus improving the yield rate of toilet bodies. In addition, by changing the mating dimensions of the sliding channel unit and the sliding key structure that are segment-designed, it is also possible to accelerate the mating process and make the mated structure more robust.

Description of Drawings

Other features, purposes and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by reading a detailed description of the non-restrictive embodiments with reference to the following accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1: a structural rear perspective view of the mounting structure for line hidden smart toilets according to an embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 2: a structural schematic diagram of the relationship applicable to the toilet seat and the toilet body for line hidden smart toilets according to the embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 3: a structural perspective view of the mounting structure according to the embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 4: a structural side-section view of the mounting structure in the first according to the embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 5: a structural side-section view of the mounting structure in the second state according to the embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 6: a structural perspective view of the mounting structure for line hidden smart toilets of another embodiment of the present application;
FIG. 7: a structural section view of the mounting structure of the other em-bodiment of the present application;

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

A detailed description is further made to the present invention below in combination with the drawings.
Other embodiments of the present invention will readily come to mind to those persons skilled in the art upon considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present invention that follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure.
It should be understood that while the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe individual units, such units should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one unit from another. For example, without deviating from the scope of exemplary embodiments, a first unit may be referred to as a second unit, and similarly a second unit may be referred to as a first unit. The term "and/or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more associated items lists.
The terms as used herein are intended to describe specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form "a", "one" as used herein is also intended to include the plural. It should also be understood that the terms "including" and/or "comprising" as used herein provide for the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, units, and/or components, and do not preclude the presence of, or the addition of, one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, units, components and/or combinations thereof.
Other embodiments of the present invention will readily come to mind to those persons skilled in the art upon considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present invention that follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or conventional technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, some embodiments of the present application provide a mounting structure for line hidden smart toilets. The toilet comprises a toilet seat 200 and a toilet body 300. There are two mounting holes 301 extending downward from an upper surface joining the toilet body 300 and the toilet seat 200. The mounting holes 301 respectively contain a water supply (pipe-)line 400 and a power supply line 500 that extend vertically downward. The water supply (pipe-)line 400 and the power supply line 500 are collectively referred to as the lines. The toilet seat 200 is mounted to the toilet body 300 by the mounting structure 100;
The mounting structure 100 comprises a first mounting part 110 fixed to the toilet body 300 and a second mounting part 120 attached to the toilet seat 200 for being part of the toilet seat. Wherein, the second mounting part 120 may comprise a main portion 121 and a recessed portion 122; the outer contour of the plate-like body 111 of the first mounting part 110 has a complementary structure to the recessed portion 122 to form a smooth outer contour when mated.
The first mounting part 110 and the second mounting part 120 are joined by a sliding channel unit 113 and a sliding key unit 123 matching the sliding channel unit in view of position and size. For example, it is possible to provide the sliding channel unit 113 in the mating area 112 of the plate-like body 111 of the first mounting part, and provide the sliding key unit 123 on the surface of the recessed portion 122 of the second mounting part 120. The sliding channel unit 113 comprises a first sliding channel portion 1131, a second sliding channel portion 1132, as well as a hollowed portion 1133 between the first sliding channel portion and the second sliding channel portion. The sliding key unit 123 comprises a first sliding key portion 1231 that can enter the sliding channel unit 113 from the hollowed portion 1133, and a second sliding key portion 1232 that is provided at a first distance apart from the first sliding key portion 1231 in a first direction L and can enter the second sliding channel portion 1132. The first distance is greater than or equal to the size of the second sliding channel portion 1132 in the first direction L; the size of the hollowed portion 1133 in the first direction L is greater than or equal to the size of the first sliding key portion 1231 in the first direction L.
It should be understood that based on the above size and positional relationship, in other embodiments of the present application, it is also possible to provide the sliding channel unit 113 on the second mounting part 120, and to provide the sliding key unit 123 on the first mounting part 110. For convenience, it is still illustrated below on the basis that the first mounting part is provided with the sliding channel unit, and the second mounting part is provided with the sliding key unit.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first sliding channel portion 1131 is a groove with one end closed in the first direction L, and the second sliding channel portion 1132 may be a through groove in the first direction L, or a groove with one end closed, as in the case of the first sliding channel portion 1131. The first sliding channel portion 1131 and the second sliding channel portion 1132 may comprise an interconnected bottom, two sidewalls and a top. The top may be semi-closed or closed.
Closed means that the top extends from a sidewall to another sidewall. Semi-closed means that the top is provided on the chute cantileveredly from a sidewall.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the first sliding key portion 1231 and the second sliding key portion 1232 are configured such that after entering the sliding channel unit 113 in a second direction N perpendicular to the first direction L, the first sliding key portion 1231 slides in the first direction L for a second distance to join the first sliding channel portion 1131, besides, the second sliding key portion 1232 slides in the first direction L for the second distance to join the second sliding channel portion 1132.
The lines are connected to the toilet seat 200. The toilet body 300 provides at least one line hole 301 that mates with the lines 400, 500 attached to the toilet seat 200 and extends downward from the upper surface. The line enters the toilet body 300 from the line hole 301, i.e., is inserted starting at the upper surface. In the configuration of the present application, the total length of the sliding channel unit 113 is greater than the size of the line hole 301 in the first direction L. Therefore, as compared to the prior art, the line hole 301 may have a smaller size in the first direction. Such a smaller size is less likely to result in defective products during production, and thus a higher yield rate can be maintained.
In an improved configuration of the present application, the first sliding channel portion 1131 and the second sliding channel portion 1132 that are of a front and rear layout in the present application allow the line hole 301 to have a smaller size in the first direction. For example, it is only necessary to guarantee that half of the total length of the sliding channel unit 113 is greater than the size of the line hole 301 in the first direction L.
To increase the joining strength, in some embodiments of the present application, the size of the first sliding key portion 1231 in the first direction is smaller than that of the second sliding key portion 1232 in the first direction. Therefore, it is possible to guarantee that the second sliding key portion 1232 joins with the second sliding channel portion 1132 without loosening. For example, the size of the second sliding key portion in the first direction is at least twice the size of the first sliding key portion in the first direction.
Although, an individual description is made for the above-mentioned sliding channel unit 113 and the sliding key unit 123, it should be understood that the sliding channel unit 113 and the sliding key unit 123 of the present application may be provided as two, three or more.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, after fixing the first mounting part 110 onto a toilet, the first sliding key portion 1231 of the sliding key unit 123 of the second mounting part is aligned with the hollowed portion 1133 of the sliding channel unit 113 of the first mounting part 110. Therefore, it is possible to make the first sliding key portion 1231 enter the sliding channel unit 113 by moving the second mounting part in the second direction, that is, Direction N, and it is possible to make the first sliding key portion 1231 join with the first sliding channel portion 1131 and make the second sliding key portion 1232 join with the second sliding channel portion 1132 by sliding the second mounting part 120 in the first direction, that is, Direction L., thus fixing the first mounting part and the second mounting part 120 reliably. In this process, as shown in FIG. 4, the travel distance of the second mounting part in the first direction may only be 16.8 mm, the travel distance of the corresponding toilet seat 200 in the first direction may also be 16.8 mm, which means that the size of the mounting holes accommodating the lines 400 and 500 on the toilet body 300 is slightly greater than 16.8 mm.
In contrast, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mounting structure 100 comprises the first mounting part 180 fixed to the toilet body and the second mounting part 190 attached to the toilet seat to form part of the toilet seat. Wherein, the second mounting part 190 may comprise a main portion 191 and a recessed portion 192; the outer contour of the plate-like body 181 of the first mounting part 180 has a complementary structure to the recessed portion 192 to form a smooth outer contour when mated. The first mounting part 180 and the second mounting part 190 are joined by a sliding channel unit 183 and a sliding key unit 193 matching the sliding channel unit in view of position and size. For example, it is possible to provide the sliding channel unit 183 in the mating area 112 of the plate-like body 181 of the first mounting part, and provide the sliding key unit 193 on the surface of the recessed portion 192 of the second mounting part 190.
In this embodiment, the sliding channel unit 183 is continuous. Therefore, the sliding key unit 193 needs to enter the sliding channel unit 183 in the first direction, that is, direction L and slide the full length of the sliding channel unit 193 in order to join with the sliding channel unit 193. The length of the sliding channel unit 193 is 40 mm, as shown in FIG. 7. This means that the travel distance of the second mounting part in the first direction will be 40 mm, with that of the corresponding toilet seat 200 in the first direction is also 40 mm, that is to say, the size of the mounting holes accommodating the lines 400 and 500 on the toilet body 300 is slightly greater than 40 mm. Such a large mounting hole design increases the difficulty in toilet body machining, thus resulting in a lower yield rate.
It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise structure that has been described above and illustrated in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without deviating from its scope.

Claims

Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets, wherein the mounting structure (100) is adapted for mounting a toilet seat (200) to a toilet body (300),
wherein the mounting structure (100) comprises a first mounting part (110) attached to the toilet body (300) and a second mounting part (120) attached to the toilet seat (200) or being part of the toilet seat (200),

wherein the first mounting part (110) and the second mounting part (120) are joined by at least a sliding channel unit (113) and at least a sliding key unit (123) matching the sliding channel unit (113) in view of position and size,

wherein the sliding channel unit (113) comprises a first sliding channel portion (1131), a second sliding channel portion (1132), and a hollowed portion (1133) arranged between the first sliding channel portion (1131) and the second sliding channel portion (1132),

wherein the sliding key unit (123) comprises a first sliding key portion (1231) for entering the sliding channel unit (113) from the hollowed portion (1133) and a second sliding key portion (1232) that is provided at a first distance apart from the first sliding key portion (1231) in a first direction (L),

wherein the first distance is greater than or equal to a size of the second sliding channel portion (1132) in the first direction (L),

and wherein a size of the hollowed portion (1133) in the first direction (L) is greater than or equal to a size of the first sliding key portion (1231) in the first direction (L).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to claim 1, wherein the first mounting part (110) is provided with the sliding channel unit (113) and the second mounting part (120) is provided with the sliding key unit (123); or wherein the second mounting part (120) is provided with the sliding channel unit (113) and the first mounting part (110) is provided with the sliding key unit (123).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first sliding key portion (1231) and the second sliding key portion (1232) are configured such that after entering the sliding channel unit (113) in a second direction (N) perpendicular to the first direction (L), the first sliding key portion (1231) slides in the first direction (L) for a second distance to join the first sliding channel portion (1131) and the second sliding key portion (1232) slides in the first direction (L) for the second distance to join the second sliding channel portion (1132).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein a size of the first sliding key portion (1231) in the first direction (L) is smaller than a size of the second sliding key portion (1232) in the first direction (L).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein a size of the first sliding key portion (1231) in the first direction (L) is at least twice a size of the second sliding key portion (1232) in the first direction (L).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first sliding channel portion (1131) is a groove with one end closed in the first direction (L), and the second sliding channel portion (1132) is a through groove or a groove with one end closed in the first direction (L).
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to claim 6, wherein the first sliding channel portion (1131) and the second sliding channel portion (1132) both comprise an interconnected bottom, two sidewalls and a closed or unclosed top extending between the two sidewalls.
Mounting structure (100) for smart toilets according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the second mounting part (120) comprises a recessed portion (122), wherein an outer contour of the first mounting part (110) has a complementary structure to the recessed portion (122) to form a smooth outer contour when mated.
Smart toilet including the mounting structure (100) according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the smart toilet comprises a toilet seat (200) and a toilet body (300) being connected by the mounting structure (100).
Smart toilet according to claim 9, wherein the toilet seat (200) connects to a line (400, 500), wherein the toilet body (300) provides at least a line hole (301) that allows the line (400, 500) to enter and extend downward from an upper surface joining the toilet body (300) and the toilet seat (200), and wherein a total length of the sliding channel unit (113) is greater than the size of the line hole (301) in the first direction (L).
Smart toilet according to claim 10, wherein half of the total length of the sliding channel unit (113) is greater than a size of the line hole (301) in the first direction (L).
Use of the mounting structure (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 for mounting the toilet seat (200) to the toilet body (300).