FR2622181A1 - WC SEAT PROTECTOR SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

System for the automatic placement of crowns of protective material on the seat of a toilet each time the toilet is used, characterized in that it essentially consists of a container containing a certain number of protective rings and housed in the "cover" portion of the toilet seat, and mechanical means for depositing on the seat an individual protective ring taken from said container, these means being connected to the seat so as to intervene at each lowering operation of said seat.

Description

! The requirements of personal hygiene, linked to the growing concern for

  population with regard to sexually transmitted diseases, have led to the search for new means of protection against direct contact of an individual with the seats of toilet bowls, especially in public places, such as airport toilets, stations, planes, trains, restaurants, hotels and similar, and in private places but where several individuals succeed one another in a relatively short period, such as guesthouses,

  private or administrative offices and the like.

  A rustic way consisted in proposing to the user seat protectors in the shape of paper crowns, which the user uses at his discretion by removing them individually from a dispenser. This means is awkward and of questionable effectiveness. In addition, it involves the intervention of the user, who may, by haste or negligence, omit

to use it.

  Systems have also been proposed allowing the user to unwind an appropriate length of a tubular protector cut from a very long storage roller (see in particular French patents 2 402 434, 2 533 431, and 2 537 427. However, such systems are complicated and

  also require user intervention.

  The present invention relates to a completely new system design, allowing, without any intervention from the user, to automatically ensure the latter the implementation

  place of an individual protective element, for each use of the WC.

  This system essentially consists of a container containing a certain number of protective crowns and housed in the "cover" portion of the toilet seat, and of means

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  mechanical for depositing on the seat an individual protective crown taken from said container, these means being connected & the flap so as to intervene at each

  maneuver for lowering said seat.

  Preferably, these mechanical means make it possible, moreover, at each raising operation of said seat, to determine the evacuation of said crown by means of the

flush.

  According to a possible embodiment, these mechanical means consist essentially of a rack whose front end is pivotally mounted on the rear part of the seat, and which permanently cooperates with a pinion fixedly mounted on a pivoting axis in a bearing disposed in the cover, and causing, possibly with gear reduction, a knurled roller, preferably made of semi-flexible plastic, and exerting permanent pressure on the stack of crowns housed in said cover, so that, by lowering the seat, the displacement resulting from the rack causes the rotation of said roller, and consequently the drive by this roller of a protective crown,

  extracted from the pile and placed on the seat.

  The operation of the system is obviously subordinated to the operation of the seat, but the latter has become completely usual, and must not be accompanied here by any

  additional maneuver requiring user initiative.

  Conversely, it will be normal for the user to evacuate the crown after use, but the arrangement of automatic means for this evacuation will represent an additional refinement of the invention. Such means may consist of a simple mounted pusher elastically on the seat to orient the sliding of said downwards

  crown during the usual raising of said seat.

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Claims (4)

  1. System for the automatic installation of crowns of protective material on the seat of a WC for each use of this WC, characterized in that it essentially consists of a container containing a certain number of protective crowns and housed in the "cover" portion of the toilet seat, and of mechanical means for depositing on the seat an individual protective crown taken from said container, these means being connected to the seat so as to   intervene each time the seat is lowered.   2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means allowing, moreover, at each raising operation of said seat, to determine the evacuation   of said crown by means of the flush.   3. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said mechanical means consist essentially of a rack whose front end is pivotally mounted on the rear part of the seat, and which cooperates permanently with a pinion fixedly mounted on a pivoting axis in a bearing disposed in the cover, and causing, possibly with gear reduction, a knurled roller, preferably made of semi-flexible plastic, and exerting permanent pressure on the stack of crowns housed in said cover, so that, by lowering the seat , the displacement resulting from the rack causes the rotation of said roller, and consequently the drive by this roller of a protective crown,   extracted from the pile and placed on the seat.   4. System according to claim 2, characterized in that said additional mechanical means consist of a simple pusher resiliently mounted on the seat to orient downward the sliding of said crown during recovery usual of said seat.