GB2432853A

GB2432853A - Cubicle containing a toilet folds into compact enclosure for easy transportation and storage

Info

Publication number: GB2432853A
Application number: GB0524608A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Peter Hay
Original assignee: JANE ELIZABETH HAY
Current assignee: JANE ELIZABETH HAY
Priority date: 2005-12-02
Filing date: 2005-12-02
Publication date: 2007-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-02
Also published as: GB2432853B; GB0524608D0

Abstract

A sanitary installation comprises a plurality of pivotally interconnected panels and a sanitaryware article i.e. a toilet. The panels are moveable from a folded position (figures 7-9) in which they enclose the toilet to an unfolded position (figures 1-5) in which they define a toilet cubicle. The folding panels preferably comprise walls, one of which comprising a door, a floor and a ceiling. The toilet may be attached to a pivotable panel. Either the panel to which the toilet is fixed can be pivoted to bring the toilet within the enclosure, or the side walls can fold around the toilet. The unfolded cubicle may be rectangular, having long side walls each comprising a plurality of vertically pivoted panels, with the toilet being mounted at a shorter rear wall. The toilet may be mounted to a wall which extends transverse the cubicle. When in use in a folded position the cubicle protects the sanitaryware and can be manoeuvred through doorways so that it can be erected indoors.

Description

Sanitary Installation This invention relates to a sanitary

installation, such as a toilet, bathroom or washroom There is often a need to provide temporary sanitary installations, for example when hosting events at locations which have insufficient or inadequate sanitary facilities One known form of temporary sanitary installation comprises a large cabin or trailer, which can be situated outside the location and which comprises a plurality of toilets and washbasins, perhaps divided into two areas for male and female use A disadvantage of such sanitary installations is that users have to go outside to use them, which can be inconvenient and unpleasant, especially in inclement weather In order to overcome this problem, it has been proposed to provide sanitary installations in the form of individual toilet cubicles, which can be positioned inside rooms However, a disadvantage of this arrangement is that the cubicles are bulky and difficult to transport Furthermore, the cubicles are too big to fit through standard sized doorways, thereby limiting the locations at which such installations can be deployed It is also known to provide temporary sanitary installations in the form of flat-packed kits, which can be assembled on site However, the assembly and disassembly of such kits is time consuming Furthermore, there is a risk that the toilet or other sanitaryware may be damaged during transportation. temporary sanitary installations often use sanitaryware, which is connected to a vacuum pump and toilets operating on this principle are several times more expensive than conventional toilets and accordingly need to be protected against damage I have now devised a sanitary installation which alleviates the above-mentioned problems.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a sanitary installation comprising a plurality of pivotally interconnected panel members and a sanitaryware article, the panel members being moveable from a folded position, in which they enclose and contain said sanitaryware article, to an unfolded position, in which they define a cubicle containing said sanitaryware article When folded, the panels form a compact structure which is easily transported and which protects the sanitaryware from damage Once on site, the panels can be unfolded quickly and easily to form a cubicle, which can then be connected to water, drainage and electricity ready for use Preferably the panel members, when folded, form a protective enclosure around the sanitaryware article, the enclosure having top, bottom, front end, rear end and opposite side walls Preferably the panel members, when unfolded, form a cubicle having at least front end, rear end and opposite side walls Preferably one of the walls of the cubicle comprises a door Preferably the panels also unfold to form a floor and/or a ceiling of the cubicle.

Preferably the sanitaryware article is secured to one of the panels In order to make the folded structure as compact as possible, the sanitaryware article is preferably secured to a foldable panel.

Preferably some of the panels are rigidly interconnected to form a compartment having an opening, the sanitaryware article being secured to a panel which is foldable to bring the article into the compartment Preferably the cubicle is rectangular and comprises side walls, which are longer than the front and rear end walls, the sanitaryware article being mounted at the rear end of the cubicle Preferably the door is mounted at the opposite end of the cubicle to the sanitaryware article either in the front end wall or in the front end of a side wall.

Preferably the side walls comprise a plurality of elongate panels which extend vertically and are pivotally interconnected for folding about respective vertical axes.

Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of examples only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

Figure 1 is a perspective view, from the front and above of an embodiment of sanitary installation in accordance with this invention, shown unfolded Figure 2 is a front end view of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a left side view of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 1, shown unfolded, Figure 4 is a right side view of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 1, shown unfolded, with some parts being shown cut away.

Figure 5 is a sectional view along the line V-V of Figure 4, Figure 6 is a perspective view, from the front and above of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 1, shown partially folded, Figure 7 is a right side view of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 1, shown folded, Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line VIl-Vil of Figure 7, Figure 9 is a sectional view along the line IX-IX of Figure 8, Figure 10 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of sanitaryware installation in accordance with this invention, shown partially unfolded; and Figure 11 is a perspective view, from the front and above, of the sanitaryware installation of Figure 10, shown partially folded Referring to Figures 1 to 9 of the drawings, there is shown a sanitary installation comprising a toilet bowl 10 of ceramics material, which is mounted inside an enclosure 11 formed of a plurality of interconnected panels which, as will be explained hereinafter, can be moved from the unfolded condition (shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the drawings) to the folded condition (shown in Figures 7 to 9 of the drawings) The enclosure 11 comprises a floor 12, a ceiling 13, a front end wall 14, a rear end wall 15 and opposite side walls 16,17 The floor and ceiling 12,13 each comprise respective pivotally interconnected front and rear panels 12a,12b and 13a,13b Each side wall 16,17 comprises a plurality of elongate panels 16a-e,17a-e, which are hinged along their longitudinal vertical edges to adjacent panels in the side wall The panels 16a,17a at the rear ends of the respective side walls 16,17 are rigidly connected at their lower and upper ends to the rear end panels 12a,13a of the floor 12 and ceiling 13 respectively The panel forming the rear end wall 15 extends between the rear longitudinal side edges of the opposed rear side panels 16a,17a, thereby forming an open-fronted rigid box structure 19 at the rear of the enclosure Tracks 1 8 extend along opposite longitudinal side edges of the upper surface of the floor 12 A similar pair of tracks (not shown) extend along the opposite longitudinal side edges of the lower surface of the ceiling 13 The upper and lower ends of the front longitudinal side edges of the front panels 16e,17e of the side walls 16,17 carry projections (not shown) which extend into the respective tracks e.g. 18 Similar projections extend into the tracks e g 18 at the points where the upper and lower ends of the central side panel members 1 6c, 1 6d and 1 7c, 1 7d meet A door 20 is provided in the front end wall 14 of the enclosure 11. The toilet bowl 10 is mounted to a vertical bulkhead 21, which extends between the front longitudinal side edges of the rear side panels 16a,17a, parallel to the rear end wall 15. The bulkhead 21 extends upwardly from the floor 12 to a point disposed intermediate the floor 12 and the ceiling 13 The bulkhead 21 is divided into three side-by-side sections 21a-c, the toilet bowl 10 being mounted to the central section 21b.

The central section 21b of the bulkhead 21 is pivoted along one vertical side edge thereof to one of the outer sections 21c of the bulkhead 21, which is rigidly fixed in place The other outer section 21a of the bulkhead 21 is pivoted along its vertical side edge to the rear side panel 16a. The distance between the bulkhead 21 and the rear wall 15 is slightly greater than the width of the toilet bowl 10 In use, the front end wall 14 is pulled forwardly along the tracks 18 between the floor 12 and ceiling 13 The side panels 16b-16e and 17b-17e are then secured to the floor 12 and ceiling 1 3 to keep them in their extended co-planar positions A spigot 22 on the rear of toilet bowl 10 is then connected to a vacuum source and carpet or another type of floor covering is laid on the floor 12 The installation is now ready for use and it will be appreciated that a plurality of such installations can be mounted side-by-side in a room In order to fold the installation for transportation and storage, the toilet bowl 10 is disconnected from the vacuum source and the pivotal bulkhead sections 21a,21b are released to allow them to pivot rearwardly, thereby causing the toilet bowl 10 to pivot through 900 against the rear end wall 15 The opposed side panels 16b-16e and 17b- 17e are then released and the front end wall 14 is pushed rearwardly along the tracks 18, thereby causing the side panels 116b-16e and 17b-17e to fold in a concertina fashion against the bulkhead 21 The front end portions 12a,13a of the floor 12 and ceiling 13 are then respectively folded upwardly and downwardly against the front end wall 14. The front end portion 1 3a of the ceiling 13 preferably comprises a plurality of sections, which can be folded against each other, as shown in Figures 7 and 9 of the drawings.

Referring to Figures 10 and 11 of the drawings, in an alternative embodiment, the WC 10 is mounted to a rear portion of the floor 12, which can be folded upwardly, once the side walls 16,17 have been pulled forwardly It will be appreciated that a sanitary installation in accordance with this invention comprises is arranged such that the toilet bowl thereof is completely enclosed on all six sides by panels of the enclosure and is therefore protected against damage during transportation and storage. The folded enclosure is compact and is therefore easy to transport and store Furthermore, the folded enclosure is able to pass through narrow doorways, so that temporary sanitary installations can be provided in rooms

Claims

CLAIMS

1) A sanitary installation comprising a plurality of pivotally interconnected panel members and a sanitaryware article, the panel members being moveable from a folded positron, in which they enclose and contain said sanitaryware article, to an unfolded position. in which they define a cubicle containing said sanitaryware article.

2) A sanitary installation as claimed in claim 1, in which the panel members, when folded, form a protective enclosure around the sanitaryware article, the enclosure having top, bottom, front end, rear end and opposite side walls.

3) A sanitary installation as claimed in claims 1 or 2, in which the panel members, when unfolded, form a cubicle having at least front end, rear end and opposite side walls 4) A sanitary installation as claimed in claim 3, in which one of the walls of the cubicle comprises a door 5) A sanitary installation as claimed in claims 3 or 4, in which the panels unfold to form a floor of the cubicle 6) A sanitary installation as claimed in any of claims 3 to 5, in which the panels unfold to form a ceiling of the cubicle 7) A sanitary installation as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the sanitaryware article is mounted to one of the panels.

8) A sanitary installation as claimed in claim 7, in which the sanitaryware article is mounted to a pivotable panel 9) A sanitary installation as claimed in claim 8, in which a plurality of the panels are rigidly interconnected to form a compartment having an opening, the sanitaryware article being secured to a panel which is pivotable to bring the article into the compartment.

10)A sanitary installation as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9, in which the cubicle is rectangular and comprises side walls, which are longer than front and rear end walls of the cubicle, the sanitaryware article being mounted at the rear end of the cubicle 11)A sanitary installation as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10, in which the sanitaryware article is mounted to a wall which extends transverse the cubicle.

12)A sanitary installation as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cubicle comprises side walls having a plurality of elongate panels which extend vertically and are pivotally interconnected for folding about respective vertical axes 13) A sanitary installation as claimed in claim 12, in which the cubicle comprises a pair of parallel side walls, each having a plurality of elongate panels which extend vertically and are pivotally interconnected for folding about respective vertical axes.

14)A sanitary installation substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 9 or Figures 10 and 11 of the accompanying drawings.