GB2161104A - Moulding sanitary appliances - Google Patents

Abstract

A sanitary appliance, for example a W.C. pan, comprises a bowl (10) and a lateral projection (16) from the rim (14) of the bowl, the projection having two separate passages (40, 44) extending from a common inlet (20) and discharging into the rim at respective points. These passages are located under ribs formed in the upper faces of the projection. A third passage (42) for discharging water to the back of the bowl may be located at a rib formed in the lower face of the projection. The sanitary appliance is made by slip casting in a mould, the said passages (40, 42, 44) being wholly formed by emptying slip. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sanitary appliances Field of the Invention This invention relates to sanitary appliances, especially W.C. pans or bidets, which have a bowl with a rim supplied with flushing water from a water inlet in a lateral projection. The lateral projection may carry a cistern or be connected to a flush bend or the like, and/or may mount a seat or taps and waste control, depending on the nature of the appliance.

Background to the Invention Sanitary appliances have long been made by slip casting, but due to the complexity of the shape it has always been necessary to make the casting in time-separated stages, or in separate parts. For example the rim has been cast in one piece and when at an appropriate stage of dryness, married to a separately made bowl. In simplified designs avoiding separate rims there have been dividers or like pieces added to or inserted in the mould to give two separate passageways to deliver water to flow in both directions around the rim; alternatively, where a single passageway has run between the inlet and the rim, a diverter has been used to cause the water to flow in the two directions away from the diverter.

Each separate part or stage not only adds to production costs, but more significantly increases the risk of failure in the kiln. When a single passage is used with a diverter, the water flow is deflected with loss of velocity and a poorer flush results, and of course if the diverter is of ceramic added to the main casting the same possibility of failure arises.

Where a divider or other loose piece is required in the mould the assembly of the mould and subsequent demoulding of the appliance are rendered more difficult than would otherwise be the case.

The object of the invention is to enable onepiece castings to be made without any inserted or added-on parts, and moreover to enable efficient flush to be obtained with such manufactured articles.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention a method of making a ceramic sanitary appliance comprising a bowl and a lateral projection from the rim of the bowl, said projection being provided with at least two separate passages for water each communicating with a common inlet and with the rim at a respective point, is characterised in that the appliance is made by slip casting in a mould and in that the said passages are wholly formed by emptying slip from said mould.

Preferably, the mould comprises a pair of side forming pieces which meet generally at a plane containing the vertical axis of the bowl and generally bisecting the projection, each said piece forming half of the underside of the projection, said mould pieces being removable after casting by separation in a direction normal to said plane. This involves the underside of the projection being relatively smooth and flat or curved, but without having any undercut recesses.

Preferably, the mould further comprises a top piece which co-operates to form said rim and the top of the projection, said further piece being removable after the casting in a direction away from the article and generally along the said axis. For this reason the top of the projection may be provided with recesses which the mould part moves out of in said separation. Hence the projection can be made of a suitable external shape so that after the usual time for the slip to reduce its water content and solidify adjacent the mould, and when slip is poured out, it will leave only the relatively thickened parts of the projection, i.e.

those on either side of said recesses, thereby creating the water passages.

The invention also provides a sanitary appliance comprising a bowl and a lateral projection from the rim of the bowl, said projection being provided with at least two separate passages for water each communicating with a common inlet and with the rim at a respective point, characterised in that the cross sectional shape of said projection includes a lower face without recesses, and an upper face provided with ribs in the location of said passages. Such an appliance, if ceramic, may be made by slip casting in a mould, the said passages being wholly formed by emptying slip.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a generally transverse sectional elevation of an exemplary W.C. pan according to this invention showing the approximate outline of four mould parts assembled together to define part of the shape of the said pan.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same W.C. pan; Figure 3 is a plan view of the same, and Figures 4, 5 and 6 are sectional elevations taken on the lines 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 7 is a perspective view, from above and partly in section, of an alternative form of projection to that shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 8 is a perspective view, from beneath and partly in section, of the projection shown in Figure 7.

In the drawings, like parts are indicated by like numerals.

Description of Preferred Embodiments Referring now to Figures 1-6, a W.C. pan of the pedestal type comprises a conventional bowl 10 supported on a foot 12 and provided with an open flushing rim 14 of generally inverted channel shape extending around a major part of its periphery. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, a projection or platform 1 6 extends rearwardly from the pan, in this case being for the purpose of mounting a close coupled cistern and a W.C. seat. The possible position of punchings to locate fixing bolts is not shown in these figures.

The projection 1 6 is supported on its underside by a reinforcing web 1 8 which is symmetrical of a vertical plane extending through the water inlet aperture 20 in the end of the projection remote from the bowl, the plane also containing the axis of the bowl.

The appliance may be slip cast using a pair of mirror-image but otherwise generally identical mould pieces of which the exterior shape is merely diagrammatically shown in Figure 1.

These meet at the front and rear of the pan at the plane P, and are indicated by the reference numerals 24, 26. They form the whole of the exterior of the foot, bowl and reinforcing web, as well as the exterior of the soil pipe connection stub 30 (Figure 2).

The interior of the foot 1 2 is formed by a vertically and upwardly extending projection 32 from a foot or base mould piece 34, and the top of the rim 14 may be formed by a top mould piece 22 which has a plug-like part 36 extending internally of the bowl over the whole of the height of the rim. In this arrangement, the major portion of the interior of the bowl as at 38 is not defined by any mould parts, nor are the rim channels 28 defined by any mould parts. In manufacture the whole of the internal space 38 and the interior of the rim channel are filled with slip which is allowed to thicken and harden for example as shown in Figure 1 and then surplus slip is poured out thus creating the bowl space 38 and the open channels 28 in the rim. This operation will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

Three water passages 40, 42, 44 shown by broken lines (Figure 3), extend through the length of the projection 1 6 from a chamber 46,-also shown in broken linesin Figure 3, which communciates with the inlet 20. These passage; are created by pouring slip out, at the same time as the slip is poured out of the bowl 10. The top mould part 22 and the cooperating mould parts 24, 26 form the top and bottom of the projection. Where water passages 40 and 44 are to extend, ribs 50 and 54 are formed on the top of the projection by appropriate grooves in the top mould 22, and where the central passage 42 is to be formed partly coincident with the web 18, a groove is formed between meeting mould parts 24, 26 underneath the projection and behind the bowl, resulting in rib 52.

Where the chamber 46 is to be formed, the projection is of the same overall thickness as in the vicinity of the passages, but across the whole of its width.

It will be appreciated after the foregoing explanations, that the passageway 42 could also be located so that a rib is provided on the upper surface of the projection, but the arrangement illustrated is preferred, enabling seat mounting between the ribs on the upper surface in rather simpler manner than would be possible if all three channels were represented by ribs on the upper surface.

The direction of movement of the top mould, after casting is shown in Figure 1 by the arrow A. The direction of movement of the side moulds are shown in the same figure by the arrows B, C. The foot mould may be withdrawn in the direction of the arrow D.

It will be noted from Figure 2 that the projection 1 6 is inclined upwardly from the rim of the pan and this may give water passages, especially those 40 and 44 which are to feed the pan rim for wash-down, which slope downwardly to give especially good water velocity to sweep around the whole rim.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate the end of a projection 1 6 remote from the bowl 1 0. In place of the chamber 46, the central water passage 42 extends directly from the inlet 20, the side passages 40 and 44 branching to either side of the central passage 42 at a point adjacent the inlet 20.As in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-6, the central passage 42 discharges water at the back of the bowl 10 creating a stream that assists in pulling the waste material into the soil pipe, whereas the outer channels 40, 44 discharge water into the rim at spaced points, thereby creating a cascade of water for clearing the inner surfaces of the bowl 1 0. The holes or punchings 48 indicated in Figures 7 and 8 are for the reception of bolts or the like, by means of which fitments such as the cistern tank and a W.C. seat may be affixed to the pan.

The present invention gives rise to advantages both in the operation and in the manufacture of the appliances. Thus, in operation, water is conveyed smoothly from the inlet to the rim, with the result that, even using close coupled cisterns, the water is discharged into the flushing rim at a good velocity, whereby an efficient flushing action is achieved. The construction of the sanitary appliance according to the present invention enables it to be manufactured without the need for loose pieces in the mould. Furthermore, both mould assembly and release are facilitated, irrespective of the casting or moulding method used.

The advantages are most pronounced in those embodiments wherein the projection has a generally planar and/or convex lower face without recesses and a generally parallel upper face provided with ribs in the location of at least those water passages that discharge into the rim channels.

It will be understood that the invention has been described above purely by way of example and that numerous modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, the invention is also applicable to back inlet W.C. pans and like appliances.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated from further consideration of the foregoing explanations, that if the exterior design of the pan is such that the mould piece or pieces forming the exterior of the pan could be removed in the direction of the arrow D instead of in that of the arrows B and C, and if the same mould piece or pieces form the underside of the projection 16, then the water passages 40, 44 could be located so that ribs are provided on the lower surface of the projections instead of the upper surface of the projections: however the exterior design of W.C. pans with a foot such as 1 2 makes this unlikely, although it may be more possible if the invention is applied to a wall hung pan or to a bidet or urinal or other appliance.

Claims (9)

1. A method of making a ceramic sanitary appliance comprising a bowl and a lateral projection from the rim of the bowl, said projection being provided with at least two separate passages for water each communicating with a common inlet and with the rim at a respective point, characterised in that the appliance is made by slip casting in a mould and the said passages are wholly formed by emptying slip.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the mould comprises a pair of side forming pieces which meet generally at a plane containing the vertical axis of the bowl and generally bisecting the said projection, each said piece forming half of the underside of the projection, said pieces being removable after casting by separation solely in a direction normal to said plane.

3. A method according to claim 2, characterised in that the mould further comprises a top piece which cooperates to form said rim and the top of the projection, said top piece being removable after the casting in a direction away from the article and generally along the said axis.

4. A sanitary appliance comprising a bowl and a lateral projection from the rim of the bowl, said projection being provided with at least two separate passages for water each communicating with a common inlet and with the rim at a respective point, characterised in that the cross sectional shape of said projection includes a lower face without recesses, and an upper face provided with ribs in the location of said passages.

5. A sanitary appliance according to claim 4, being a ceramic appliance, characterised in that the appliance has been made by a slip casting in a mould and in that the said passages were wholly formed by emptying slip.

6. A sanitary appliance according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the projection is provided with a third passage for water located between the two said passages and arranged to discharge water at the back of the bowl.

7. A sanitary appliance according to claim 6, characterised in that the said lower face of the projection is provided with a rib at the location of the said third passage.

8. A method of moulding a sanitary appliance substantially as hereinbefore described witn reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A sanitary appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.