JPH0994187A - Cover structure of toilet seat elevatable device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a covering structure to be suitably used in a toilet seat elevatable device of push-up type. SOLUTION: A covering structure of a toilet seat elevation device is composed of a fixing cover T whose over-part is left open and which has a cylindrical portion enclosing the periphery of a guide frame, a box-shaped movable cover 13 which encloses the opening in the cover 7, is installed on a seat mounting member 10, and has an opening in the rear, a gas spring which energizes upward the rear of the seat mounting member 10, and a slidecover 40 which is attached to the cylinder part 36a of the gas spring.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover structure for a toilet seat lifting device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cover structure that protects a mechanism portion in a drive unit in a toilet seat lifting device of a type in which push-up drive units are provided on both left and right sides of a toilet bowl and prevents a user's finger or clothes from being caught.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various toilet seat lifting devices have been proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-24213 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-3).
No. 05038, etc.), any of these devices does not employ this type of cover structure because the drive unit is installed behind the toilet bowl or at a location away from the toilet bowl.

[0003]

The present applicant has already proposed a toilet seat lifting device of the type that is pushed up from the above (Japanese Patent Application No. 7-119286). Since the drive unit is installed close to the side of the toilet bowl in this device, water drops may be splashed due to an erroneous operation, especially when used in combination with a warm water washing toilet seat. Further, since the toilet seat mounting member that supports the toilet seat moves up and down to push up the toilet bowl, there is a risk that the user's finger or clothes may be caught. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a technical object of the present invention to provide a cover structure for protecting the drive mechanism, wiring, etc. from water droplets and preventing the user's finger or clothes from being caught in the toilet seat lifting device of the above type. On the other hand, this toilet seat lifting device not only moves the toilet seat up and down, but also involves tilting the seat forward and backward so that the user can easily sit, the cover sways back and forth with the tilting. A large cover is required to sufficiently protect the mechanical part. Therefore, it becomes difficult to make the drive unit compact so that it can be retrofitted to an existing toilet bowl. A second technical object of the present invention is to provide a compact cover structure suitable for the push-up type toilet seat elevating / lowering device with the tilting motion.

[0004]

A cover structure for a toilet seat lifting device according to the present invention comprises a fixed guide, a slide member that can be raised and lowered along the fixed guide, and a toilet seat mounting member provided near the upper end of the slide member. A cover structure of a toilet seat lifting device having a, a fixed cover having an opening at the upper end and having a tubular portion that covers the periphery of the fixed guide, a top plate portion interposed between the tilting member and the toilet seat, A movable cover provided with a side wall extending downward from the front end and side edges of the top plate portion, having a rear opening, and a movable cover overlying the upper part of the fixed cover, and an upper end opening of a fixed guide behind the slide member. And a slide cover which is arranged so as to close the opening at the rear of the movable cover and which moves up and down in synchronization with the lifting and lowering of the slide member. This cover structure can be effectively adopted even when the toilet seat mounting member tilts between the forward tilted position and the horizontal position. Further, in the case where the toilet seat lifting device is provided with a gas spring for biasing the tilting member upwardly behind the slide member, it is preferable to attach the slide cover to the gas spring.

[0005]

The movable cover is provided with the top plate, the front end and side walls extending downward from the side edges, and the rear is open.
When the toilet seat mounting member rises, the rear opening opens. When it descends, the fixed cover closes the rear opening. However, since the slide cover is provided inside the fixed cover so as to move up and down in synchronization with the toilet seat mounting member, the rear opening can be closed by the slide cover in either case of lifting. Further, even when the toilet seat mounting member tilts forward when rising, the slide cover does not tilt, so that the slide cover does not interfere with the fixed cover.

When the slide cover is attached to the cylinder portion of the gas spring, the cylinder portion moves up and down in synchronization with the vertical movement of the slide member and the tilting movement of the tilting member. Also, the gas spring is supported up and down, so the posture is stable. Therefore, the slide cover can cover the rear opening regardless of the up and down movement and tilting of the movable cover, and does not hinder the movement of the movable cover.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the cover structure of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part showing an embodiment of a cover structure of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an entire toilet seat lifting device according to the present invention. FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a perspective view before assembly, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the mechanism of the lifting and tilting device.

First, a toilet seat lifting device A to which the cover structure of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The toilet seat lifting device A shown in FIGS. 4 to 5 is a drive unit (right unit) 1 arranged on the right hand side of the toilet (the user's right hand side).
And a drive unit (left unit) 2 arranged on the left hand side
And a plate 4 for supporting the toilet seat 3 provided above them, and a gate-shaped pipe-shaped connecting frame 5 for connecting the rear parts of the left and right units 1 and 2. An arm 6 is attached to the connecting frame 5.

The left and right units 1 and 2 have a mechanism portion K (see FIG. 6), and the mechanism portion K is housed and protected in the fixed cover 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the fixed cover 7 is composed of an elevation part protection part 8 at the front and a drive part protection part 9 provided at the back thereof in conformity with the shape of the mechanism part K. The lift protection unit 8 has a narrow width and is high. The upper end of the toilet seat mounting portion 10 is opened to project and retract, and the vicinity of the upper end has a tubular shape. Further, the step portion 11 is provided in the middle in the height direction. The drive part protection part 9 is wider and lower in height than the elevating part protection part 8. The opening 12 at the upper end of the lifting / lowering part protection part 8 is covered with a movable cover 13 that moves up and down together with the toilet seat mounting member 10. The movable cover 13 is formed in a box shape having an opening at the lower side, but the rear side is notched to the lower end and opened so as not to interfere with a portion continuous with the drive portion protection portion 9 when descending (see FIG. 3). . If the movable cover 13 also covers the drive unit protection portion 9, the rear opening can be eliminated, but this is not preferable because a large movable cover is required. For this reason, in this embodiment, the upper end of the drive-portion protection portion 9 has a cylindrical shape, and the movable cover 13 that covers this is made small.

Next, the mechanical portion K will be described with reference to FIG. The mechanical part K includes an elevating part 21 at the front and a driving part 2 at the rear.
It is divided into two, which are fixed on the base 23 and are connected by two pulling control cables 24, 24. The elevating part 21 includes a guide rail 25 fixed on a base 23, a carrier plate 28 guided by two upper and lower rollers 27, 27 rolling along the guide rail 25, and a lower end of the carrier plate 28.
8 and the slide plate 29 fixed to 8. The carrier plate 28 has two control cables 24
The end portion of the inner cable 30 is locked, and the other end of the inner cable 30 is guided by the conduit 31 and locked to the drum (not shown) of the drive unit 22. The drive unit 22 is a motor M
And a reduction gear G and the above-mentioned drum fixed to the output shaft of the reduction gear G. Bracket 3 for speed reducer G
A housing 34, which is fixed to No. 3, and accommodates the drum, is attached to the back side of the bracket.

To the vicinity of the upper end of the slide plate 29, a toilet seat mounting member 10 is rotatably connected by a rotating shaft (pin) 35. The upper end surface of the slide plate 29 is
It functions as a stopper so as to rotate the toilet seat mounting member 10 between a forwardly inclined position (see FIG. 6) and a horizontal position (see FIG. 5). The rear end of the toilet seat mounting member 10 and the base 23
A gas spring 36 is attached between the lower part and the lower part. The gas spring 36 is a biasing means that biases the toilet seat mounting member 10 upward and biases the seat mounting member 10 in the forward tilt direction around the rotation shaft 35. Gas spring 36 is cylinder 3
6a is arranged on the upper side and rod 36b is arranged on the lower side, and each end is a pin joint with the mating member.

A slide plate 2 is provided on the base 23.
A guide frame 37 that guides so as to surround 9 is attached, and a cam roller 38 is rotatably attached to the guide frame 37. On the other hand, the toilet seat mounting member 10
A cam member 39 that cooperates with the cam roller 38 is attached to the front end of the so as to face downward. The cam roller 38 and the cam member 39 are installed in the toilet seat mounting member 1 near the lower end of the stroke.
A cam means for gradually shifting 0 to the horizontal position.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the slide cover 40 and its mounting means, which are the features of the cover structure of the present invention, will be described. As described above, the movable cover 13 covers the opening 12 at the upper end of the fixed cover 7, and has a tubular shape that is vertically longer than the lifting stroke so as to cover the opening 12 even when the slide plate 29 is rising. However, as shown in FIG. 3, there is an opening 41 at the rear end that reaches the lower end. The opening 41 can be covered with the movable cover 13 when the slide plate 29 is lowered, but is opened when the slide plate 29 is raised. Therefore, when rising, the opening 4 at the rear
In order to close the first cover 1, the inside of the opening 12 at the upper end of the fixed cover 7 is covered with a slide cover 40 that slides up and down.

If the toilet seat mounting member 10 simply slides up and down, the upper end of the slide cover may be fixed to the rear end of the toilet seat mounting member 10. However, when the toilet seat mounting member 10 slides up and down and tilts between the forward tilt position and the horizontal position, fixing the slide cover interferes with the fixed cover 7 when tilting forward. In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that the upper end of the slide cover is rotatably connected to the rear edge of the toilet seat mounting member 10 by a hinge or the like. In that case, in order to prevent the slide cover from swinging, it is preferable to guide the vicinity of the lower end of the slide cover so that it can be raised and lowered by a guide attached to the inner surface of the fixed cover 7 or the base 23. Although it may be possible to attach it to the slide plate 29, since the guide frame 37 becomes an obstacle, the attachment structure becomes complicated.

The embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 employs a more preferred solution. That is, in this toilet seat lifting device A, behind the slide plate 29 is the cylinder portion 36a of the gas spring 36 that moves up and down as the rear end of the toilet seat mounting member 10 is lifted while maintaining a substantially vertical state. In this embodiment, paying attention to this point, the slide cover 40 is brought into contact with the cylinder portion 36a, and then the upper end mounting pin portion of the gas spring 36 is provided with a mounting hole for the bending piece 40a provided at the upper end of the slide cover 40. Fit together and slide the slide cover 4 to the middle of the cylinder 36a.
The lower end of 0 is attached with a band clip 40b.
This attachment is preferable because the slide cover 40 is firmly supported by the cylinder portion 36a. The upper end of the slide cover 40 may also be stopped with a band clip. The slide cover 40 is preferably bent in an L-shape or a C-shape in plan view to increase rigidity.

In the cover structure constructed as described above,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the opening 41 at the rear of the movable cover 13 can be closed from the inside even when the toilet seat is raised, and it does not interfere with the lifting and tilting operations of the toilet seat.

[0017]

Since the cover structure of the present invention covers the rear opening of the movable cover with the slide cover, the internal mechanism can be protected even when the toilet seat is raised, and the user's finger or It can prevent clothes from being caught. Also, it does not interfere with the lifting operation. Further, even when the toilet seat mounting member is accompanied by the tilting motion, the tilting motion is not hindered.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a partially cutaway essential portion showing an embodiment of a cover structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the cover structure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cover structure seen from the right side.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a toilet seat lifting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state before assembly.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a mechanical portion of the toilet seat lifting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 right unit 2 left unit 4 support plate K mechanism part 7 fixed cover 10 toilet seat mounting member 12 opening (fixed cover) 13 movable cover 29 slide plate 36 gas spring 40 slide cover 41 opening (movable cover) 36a cylinder part

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 21, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 6

[Submission date] February 7, 1996

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 7

[Correction method] Deleted

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Koichi Yamada 1048, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Jiro Koshishima, 1048, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inventor, Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Kenichi Kobayashi 1048 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cover structure for a toilet seat elevating device having a fixed guide, a slide member that can be moved up and down along the fixed guide, and a toilet seat mounting member that is provided near the upper end of the slide member. A fixed cover having an opening and a tubular portion covering the periphery of the fixed guide, a top plate portion interposed between the tilting member and the toilet seat, and a side wall extending downward from the front end and the side edge of the top plate portion. A movable cover having an opening at the rear and covering the upper part of the fixed cover, and inside the upper end opening of the fixed guide behind the slide member so as to close the opening at the rear of the movable cover. A cover structure for a toilet seat elevating device, which comprises a slide cover that is vertically arranged in synchronization with the elevating and lowering of a slide member. 2. The cover structure according to claim 1, wherein the toilet seat mounting member tilts between a forward tilted position and a horizontal position. 3. The toilet seat raising / lowering device according to claim 1, further comprising a gas spring behind the slide member for biasing the tilting member upward, and the slide cover attached to the gas spring. Cover structure.