GB2123046A - Self-cleaning water closet cubicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A self-cleaning sanitary apparatus comprises a booth (1) having a coin-operated door (2) and made up of an outer shell (3) and inner shell (4) with its interior wall surface substantially smooth, which are separated by a space (6) which contains the operating mechanism. The booth includes a water-closet (10) with a seat (13), flushing water delivery nozzles (30, 31) for washing the bottom region of the walls of the inner shell and the bowl (10), disinfectant liquid delivery nozzles mainly for the support surfaces (13) of the water closet (10), and hot air delivery outlets for drying them. Hand washing facilities (50), toilet paper and seat cover dispensers, a macerator in the waste pipe and an occupation indicator may be provided. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Self-cleaning sanitary apparatus This invention relates to a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus.

As is known, long available on the market have been self-cleaning sanitary units which are mainly used as public bathrooms and are based on the concept of providing automatic cleaning devices which are operated according to a preset cycle by the introduction of a coin or by the user entering the apparatus interior space.

Such prior apparata are generally unsatisfactory because the arrangement and construction of the various automatic cleaning devices seldom meet their requisites. Further, the cited apparata are currently designed such that no protection is afforded in practice against vandalism, they generally including various elements which protrude from the walls and, additionally to being difficult to keep clean, are more readily exposed to vandalic action.

Another disadvantage of prior apparata is that they are generally cumbersome and cannot be readily made to harmonize with the urban landscape for which such apparata are purposely conceived.

Thus the task of this invention is to provide a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus, which is so configured as to present in practice no elements likely to be damaged by vandalic actions.

Within that task it is an object of the invention to provide a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus which, owing to the rational arrangement of its various component parts, can be subjected to a highly effective cleaning action at any areas thereof and, above all, those areas which are liable to be contacted by the user.

A further object of this invention is to provide a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus which, by virtue of its peculiar construction, can give full assurance of the utmost reliability and hygienic protection.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus of unitary construction and easy to install.

These and other objects, such as will be apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a selfcleaning sanitary apparatus, according to the invention, characterized in that it comprises a booth provided with an automatically openable door and having an outer shell and an inner shell whose interior wall surface is substantially smooth, said shells being separated by an interspace accommodating devices implementing the apparatus functions, within the space defined by said inner shell there being provided a bowl seat, selectively actuatable flushing water delivery nozzles for the bottom region of the walls of said inner shell and bowl seat, disinfectant liquid delivery nozzles mainly for the support surfaces of said bowl seat, and hot air delivery outlets for drying said support surfaces.

Further features and advantages will be more readily apparent from the following description of a preferred, though not exclusive, embodiment of a self-cleaning sanitary apparatus, as illustrated by way of example and not of limitation in the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is a schematical partly cut-away perspective view of the apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the apparatus: Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line lV-IV of Figure 2; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 2; Figure 7 is a sectional view of a modified embodiment of this apparatus; and Figure 8 is a detail view of the bowl and bowl flushing means, in section along the line VIlI-VIlI of Figure 7.

Making reference to the drawing figures, the self-cleaning sanitary apparatus according to the invention comprises a booth, generally indicated at 1 , which is shown in the accompanying drawings as having a substantially cylindrical shape but may obviously have any desired shape.

The booth 1 has an automatically openable door 2, which will be explained hereinafter. The booth 1, as far as its general construction is concerned, includes an outer shell 3 and an inner shell 4, which both bear on a base 5.

The outer shell 3 and inner shell 4 define a space 6 therebetween, whose function is that of accommodating all of the devices which implement the apparatus functions.

More specifically, the outer shell 3 may be in the form of a prefabricated concrete cylinder with a patterned outer surface, or possibly in the form of a cylinder of glass fiber reinforced concrete. In either cases, the outer surface may be provided with mounts for accommodating advertizing elements, if desired.

The inner surface 4 which borders the interior space of the sanitary apparatus is preferably formed from optionally enamelled stainless steel, which has the peculiar property of defining substantially smooth interior surfaces, practically defining no handgrips or projecting surfaces.

Internally to the space bordered by the inner shell 4, there is defined a bowl seat, generally designated with the reference numeral 10, which has a concave upper platform 11 converging with its middle ponion into a first sump formation 12 at the side whereof support elements 1 3 are located which are advantageously made pivotable about a substantially vertical axis for swinging outwardly during the flushing operations, as will be described hereinafter.

The first sump formation 12 opens at the bottom into a lower sump formation 14 which, with the interposition of a conventional siphon trap 15, is connected to a drain conduit generally indicated at 1 6.

Advantageously, at the outlet from said siphon trap and at a location that cannot be reached inadvertently, there may be provided a sewage chopper 17 to prevent possible clogging of the drain conduit.

The floor of the cited space is constituted of a grid 20 which controls sensor means sensing the user's weight to initiate the apparatus operating cycle. Said grid is positioned above a collecting trough 21 ,which is connected through an auxiliary siphon trap 22 to the cited drain conduit 16.

The apparatus according to the invention further includes, on the interior thereof, nozzles delivering flushing water for the cited lower sump 14, as indicated at 30, which are arranged to continuously admit water into the lower sump; also provided are flushing water delivery nozzles 31 for flushing the lower areas of the inner walls and sumps which extend in a recess defined peripherally by the inner shell so as to form in practice a water curtain which sweeps the walls as well as the area above the concave platform 11 of the bowl seat 10, in order to convey the water into the first sump and thence to the drain.

Provided on the inner wall at the area on the side of the bowl seat 10 are large handles 40 which are provided with disinfectant liquid delivery nozzles whose jet mainly spans the support surfaces defined by the bowl seat, while hot air delivery outlets are provided for drying the cited support surfaces.

The apparatus further comprises, within the cited space 6, an automatic door opener 39 which can be coin-operated, an automatic container 41 of paper seat covers which has a slot 42 toward the space interior, and a container 43 of toilet paper of the automatically dispensing type with a dispensing slot 44.

Again in the intershell space, there is defined a flushing compartment 50 which includes a liquid soap container 51, a fouled air extractor 52 toward the outside, and a water dispensing faucet 53 and hot air drier 54, which are all accessible through a mouth or opening 55 provided at the sidewalls of the space delimited inside the booth.

Above the cited mouth, there is preferably provided a mirror 60.

Provided on the booth floor, moreover, is a pedal control 70 for controlling the delivery of hand washing water, a pedal or pushbutton control for opening the door, indicated at 71, and a warning pushbutton 72.

On the booth exterior, vacant-occupied indicators are displayed, as well as an optional alarm indicator.

The use and operation of the self-cleaning sanitary apparatus according to this invention are quite simple and automated. In fact, the user is only required to drop one or more coins into the access door opening automatic mechanism; the introduction of the coin will cause the door to open automatically, as well as switch on the "occupied" indicator on the outside and the light on the inside, start the air extractor, and switch on any internal lighted display informing the user that the apparatus is made available to him/her for a preset time period.

Upon the user entering the apparatus, the pressure exerted on the grid 20, which forms the floor surface thereof, will cause the door to close automatically, and the delivery of a continuous water flow through the nozzles 30 into the lower sump 1 4. Moreover, also automatically, a paper seat cover and a metered amount of toilet paper are dispensed, while a timer is started to count down the time period that the apparatus is to be reserved for the user.

The user, after raising from the seated position, by depressing the pedal control 70 on the floor actuates the delivery of hand washing water and soap, as well as of a hot air jet for drying purposes.

After use of the apparatus, by depressing the pushbutton 71 the door is automatically opened.

As the user steps out, the grid 20, being relieved of the user's weight, controls sequentially the actuation of the following operations: automatic reclosing of the door and switching off of the interior light, and operation of pressurized water jets, both through the nozzles 30 and nozzles 31, thus providing complete flushing of the apparatus; at the same time, the chopper located downstream of the drain is operated to avert occlusion of the drain conduit; and on completion of the latter step, the disinfectant jets against the support elements 13 are activated, said support elements being advantageously rotated outwardly to facilitate removal toward the upper sump of any left seat cover, which will be then chopped.

Thereafter, a further flushing step is completed, and the hot air delivery outlets are operated to dry the support surfaces.

On completion of the flushing operations, deodorant or perfuming substances may be injected such that the apparatus can be left perfectly clean and ready for subsequent use.

At the end of all the operations just described, which will require approximately a couple of minutes to carry out, the "free" indicator will be displayed on the exterior, and the apparatus can be used again in the manner described above. In an emergency, the user can operate the emergency pushbutton 72 which, in addition to immediately releasing the access door lock, activates an intermittent emergency indicator externally to the booth.

The external emergency indicator and the door release will be operated automatically where the apparatus is being used in excess of the time allotted.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the invention achieves its objects, and in particular that the particular embodiment of the apparatus affords a thorough flushing action sweeping clean all those areas thereof which are likely to get soiled, which action is favored by the reduced provision of so-called support surfaces which are restricted in practice to just the seating area.

Furthermore, the absence of protruding elements defeats vandalic actions, since none of the facilities are made accessible from the booth interior.

The invention as conceived is susceptible to many modifications and variations without departing from the true scope of the instant inventive concept.

Thus, as an example and as shown in Figure 7, the outer shell 3 and inner shell 4 may be arranged off-centered to each other, thereby they would be closer to each other at the door 2 and leave a wider space at the area where the various actuating mechanisms are accommodated.

Moreover, a bowl 80 having a substantially frusto-conical configuration may be used with an internal flushing cyclone, known per se.

Also provided are disinfectant liquid dispenser means on the support surfaces of the bowl 80, which would comprise a slab 81 hinged to the bottom edge of an opening 82 defined in the shell 4 and being removably closed by a flap 83 which is hinged to the top edge of said opening.

The slab 81 is connected to disinfectant liquid dispensers and to a hot air blower 84, and has a shape substantially matching the top support surfaces of said bowl 80. When it is to be used, the slab 81 is automatically tilted toward the interior of the shell 4, raising the flap 83, and locates itself above the bowl 80 as indicated in dash lines in Figure 8. Owing to the proximity of the slab 81 to the top surfaces of the bowl 80, effective disinfecting and drying actions of the top support surfaces of the bowl 80 can be achieved within a very short time lapse.

All of the invention details may be replaced with other, technically equivalent, elements.

In practicing the invention, the materials used, subject to their being compatible with the intended application, and the dimensions and contingent shapes may be any selected ones to meet individual requirements.

Claims (16)

1. A self-cleaning sanitary apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a booth providec with an automatically openable door and having an outer shell and an inner shell whose interior wall surface is substantially smooth, said shells being separated by an interspace accommodating devices implementing the apparatus functions, within the space defined by said inner shell there being provided a bowl seat, selectiveiy actuatable flushing water delivery nozzles for the bottom region of the walls of said inner shell and bowl seat, disinfectant liquid delivery nozzles mainly for the support surfaces of said bowl seat, and hot air delivery outlets for drying said support surfaces.

2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said bowl seat has at the top a concave surface merging at a middle portion thereof with a first sump formation, in turn merging with a bottom sump formation in communication, through a siphon trap, with a drain conduit, beside said first sump formation there being provided support elements mounted for pivotal outward movement.

3. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises flushing water delivery nozzles for said bottom sump formation positioned between said first sump formation and bottom sump formation for continuous delivery of water.

4. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said flushing water delivery nozzles for selective actuation are provided in a recess defined in said inner wall to produce a water curtain which sweeps the cited lower area as well as the area overlying said concave surface.

5. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said disinfectant liquid delivery nozzles and said hot air outlets are accommodated within large handles provided on said inner wall on the side of said bowl seat.

6. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a chopper located downstream of said siphon trap on said drain conduit.

7. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a grid forming the floor surface of said booth interior space and driving weight sensors for activating the apparatus functions.

8. An apparatus according to Claim 7, characterized in that said grid is located above a collecting tank communicating with said drain conduit.

9. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises in said space between said shells an automatic door opener of the coin-actuated type, an automatic paper seat cover storage container, and a toilet paper storage container adapted to dispense to the booth interior metered amounts of toilet paper and a paper seat cover.

10. An apparatus according to Claim 9, -characterized in that it comprises in said space between said shells a washing compartment including a liquid soap storage container, a hand washing water dispensing faucet, a hot air drier, and an air extractor, said washing compartment being reachable through an opening defined in said inner wail.

11. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, on the interior thereof, a foot control pushbutton for delivering hand washing water and a door opening pushbutton, there being also provided a warning or emergency pushbutton.

12. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, on the exterior thereof, free and occupied apparatus indicators as well as a warning indicator.

1 3. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said outer shell and inner shell are arranged off-centered to each other with the least mutual separation distance occurring at said door location.

1 4. An apparatus according to Claim 13, characterized in that it comprises disinfectant liquid delivery means and hot air delivery means carried in a slab accommodated in said space between said shells and being hinged to the bottom edge of an opening defined in said inner shell and closed removably by a flap hingedly connected to the top edge of said opening, said slab being tiltable above a bowl of substantially conical shape.

1 5. An apparatus according to Claim 14, characterized in that said slab has a shape substantially matching the top support surfaces said bowl.

16. A self-cleaning sanitary apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.