GB2496694A

GB2496694A - A device for facilitating flushing of a push-button-operated WC

Info

Publication number: GB2496694A
Application number: GB1120093.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Tamerlane Scott
Original assignee: OLIVER SCOTT CONSULTING Ltd
Current assignee: OLIVER SCOTT CONSULTING Ltd
Priority date: 2011-11-21
Filing date: 2011-11-21
Publication date: 2013-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2031-11-21
Also published as: GB2496694B; GB201120093D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for facilitating flushing of a push-button-operated WC. The device comprises two parts, an actuator handle 10 and collar or sleeve 20 which guides the handle. The actuator handle, for engagement with a user's hand, has a button-contacting surface 25 of a size to contact a push-button on the WC. Between the two is an elongate body 14 having an abutment surface 16. The guide sleeve has an internal guide surface 28 which extends longitudinally and, at one end of the guide, an end surface 26 for mounting the guide sleeve to a surface surrounding the push-button 30. In use, the button-contacting surface 25 of the actuator handle can be inserted into the guide such that the abutment surface engages the internal guide surface of the guide sleeve to guide movement of the actuator handle as the user slides it through the guide sleeve by means of the handle 12 to bring the button-contacting surface into contact with the push-button and depress it.

Description

I

Push-button Flush Device The present invention relates to a device for facilitating flushing of a push-button WC.

In the past, most WC cisterns have been operated by means of a pull-chain or pivoting lever handle. However, over recent years, it has become much more common for WC cisterns to be flushed by means of a push-button arrangement-In most cases, the push-button is generally level with the surface in which it is mounted and has to be depressed to effect flushing. Many of the push-button arrangements utilise a button which is perhaps a couple of centimetres in diameter, meaning that, in general, the button has to be depressed using a fingertip.

Whilst such arrangements are neat, unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing, their operation can be problematic for the elderly particularly those suffering from arthritis and for the disabled because a degree of force is needed to depress the push-button and the small size of the button may make this difficult for those whose manual strength is compromised.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a device for facilitating flushing of a push-button-operated WO, the device comprising an actuator having a button-contacting surface of a size to contact a push-button and depress it, an actuator handle of larger size than the button-contacting surface for engagement with a user's hand and an intermediate portion extending between the button-contacting surface and the actuator handle and having formed thereon an abutment surface; and a guide comprising at least one internal guide surface extending longitudinally thereof and, at one end of the guide, an end surface for mounting the guide to a surface surrounding the push-button, so that, in use, the button-contacting surface of the actuator can be inserted into the guide such that the abutment surface of the actuator engages the at least one internal guide surface of the guide guide to guide further movement of the actuator as the user slides the actuator through the guide by means of the actuator handle to bring the button-contacting surface into contact with the push-button and depress it.

An embodiment of a device in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawing.

The device of the invention comprises two parts, an actuator handle 10 and collar or sleeve 20 which serves, in use, to guide a sliding movement of the handle 10.

The guide sleeve 20 has a generally tubular circumferential wall 22 with, at one end, an outwardly-directed flange 24 defining an annular end surface 26 which, in use, contacts the surface 32 around the push-button WO flush 30. The flange 24 is preferably of a size and shape such that it fits snugly around the outside of the push-button assembly, allowing easy alignment of the central passage defined by the sleeve wall 22 with the push-button 30. The end surface 26 may advantageously be provided with a layer of contact adhesive protected by a backing paper (not shown) so that the sleeve 20 can easily be mounted on the outside of the cistern or other surface in which the push-button 30 is located. Alternatively adhesive may be applied or, where the sleeve 20 is to be fixed to a wooden or laminate surface, screw holes may be formed in the flange 24.

The guide sleeve 20 may be made of any suitably rigid material, for example, wood, cast or machined metal or moulded plastics material. The exterior is ideally finished in such a way as to be aesthetically pleasing and to blend with other bathroom fittings.

The interior surface of the tubular wall of the guide sleeve forms a guide surface 28 which1 in use, engages the actuator handle to guide the sliding movement of the actuator handle 10.

It will be appreciated that although the sleeve 20 is shown in the drawing as both cylindrical and having a continuous wall, neither attribute is essential to the proper functioning of the invention.

It will be understood that other shapes are possible and, provided the required degree of rigidity can be retained, the sleeve might be replaced by one or more discrete arms extending away from the surface in which the push-button 30 is mounted. Similarly, although the internal guide surface is shown as cylindrical, the guide surface could be discontinuous around the circumference of a tubular guide or could, indeed be formed on the exterior of a guide. It will be apparent to the skilled person that a variety of arrangements of the actuator handle and guide are possible. It may, in fact, be positively advantageous for one or both surfaces to be discontinuous so as to allow air to exhaust from the interior of the sleeve 20 as the actuator handle 10 is pushed into it.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the actuator handle 10 includes a handle 12 and an elongate body 14 extending from the handle 10.

The handle 12 is sufficiently large that it can easily be grasped by a person whose manual function is compromised, by disability, old age or disease such as arthritis. In preferred embodiments, the handle 12 may be shaped to sit comfortably in the palm of the users hand or may have a generally fiat surface so that pressure can be exerted on it using other parts of the user's body entirely, for example, a shoulder or hip.

The elongate body 14 is shaped so that it forms at least one abutment surface 16 which, in use contacts the interior guide surface 28 formed inside the guide sleeve 20. The abutment surface 16 is a snug fit within the guide surface 28, allowing the actuator handle 10 to slide freely relative to the guide 20 but not allowing so much play that the body 14 can pivot relative to the guide sleeve 20 to a material degree.

At the end of the elongate body 14 remote from the handle 12, there is formed a button-contacting surface 15 which is generally fiat and of a similar, but slightly smaller, diameter than the push-button 30. Between the handle 12 and the button-contacting surface 15, the elongate body 14 is of sufficient length that when the actuator handle 10 is pushed all the way into the guide sleeve 20, the button-contacting surface 15 travels all the way through the central passage defined by the sleeve wall 22 until it contacts the push-button 30 and can then extend a little further to depress the push-button.

Once the WC has flushed, the push-button 30 returns to its undepressed normal' position, pushing the actuator handle 10 bacK out to its rest position.

Where the device is used to operate a push-button 30 arranged in a horizontal surface, gravity may be sufficent to keep the actuator handle 10 in its rest position in the guide sleeve 20.

However, where the device is to be used to operate a push-button in a vertical surface, there is a danger that the actuator handle 10 may fall out of the guide sleeve 20 and roll away into a S corner or the like where it cannot easily be retrieved by an elderly or disabled person.

For this reason it is preferred that retaining means 27, 17 be provided on the interengaging parts of the guide sleeve 20 and actuator handlelO. Where the device is made from moulded plastics material, these may be in the nature of a snap fit arrangement. As shown in the drawing, the elongate body 14 is provided with a number of outwardly projecting angled tabs 17 and the interior surface of the sleeve wall 22 has a circumferentially extending rib 27 moulded onto it. When the actuator handle 10 is first pushed into the guide sleeve 20, the tabs 17 deform elastically so that they can move past the rib 27. However, because of the angle at which the tabs 17 extend, any attempt to withdraw the actuator handle 10 from the guide sleeve 20 entirely causes the tabs 17 to jam against the rib 27, preventing further movement of the actuator handle 10 out of the sleeve 20.

It will be apparent to the skilled man that other forms of snap fit arrangement are possible or, alternatively, that if the actuator handle 10 is of two part construction, it can be provided with an outward projection or flange to secure the actuator handle 10 permanently in the guide sleeve 20.

The device of the invention can thus provide an inexpensive and effective way to allow the elderly or disabled to operate a push-button WO flush.

Claims

<claim-text>CLAIMS1. A device for facilitating flushing of a push-button-operated WC, the device comprising an actuator having a button-contacting surface of a size to contact a push-button and depress it, an actuator handle of larger size than the button-contacting surface for S engagement with a user's hand and an intermediate portion extending between the button-contacting surface and the actuator handle and having formed thereon an abutment surface; and a guide comprising at least one internal guide surface extending longitudinally thereof and, at one end of the guide, an end surface for mounting the guide member to a surface surrounding the push-button, so that, in use, the button-contacting surface of the actuator can be inserted into the guide such that the abutment surface of the actuator engages the at least one internal guide surface of the guide to guide further movement of the actuator as the user slides the actuator through the guide by means of the actuator handle to bring the button-contacting surface into contact with the push-button and depress it.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A device according to claim I wherein the guide is a tubular sleeve and the internal guide surface extends around substantially the whole circumference of interior of the guide.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the actuator handle and guide each include interengageable retaining means which co-operate to prevent complete removal of the actuator handle from the guide.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. A device according to claim 3 wherein the interengageable retaining means are such that the actuator handle can initially be snap-fitted into the guide.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. A device for facilitating flushing of a push-button-operated WC, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawing.</claim-text>