US3621494A - Lavatory unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A LAVATORY UNIT COMPRISES AND ELONGATE BODY MEANS OF SUBSTANTIALLY TRAPEZOIDAL CROSS-SECTION WHICH IS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION THROUGH 360* ABOUT A HORIZONTAL LONGITUDINAL AXIS. IN EACH OF THE PRINCIPAL LONGITUDINAL FACES OF THE BODY MEANS A WASHING FACILITY IS PROVIDED. ONE FACE CONTAINS A BATH, A SECOND FACE CONTAINS A PAIR OF WASH BASINS AND A THIRD FACE A CHILD''S BATH. BY ROTATING THE BODY MEANS THE VARIOUS WASHING FACILITIES CAN BE BROUGHT INTO USE ACCORDING TO WHICHEVER PRINCIPAL FACE IS HORIZONTALLY UP-

PERMOST. THE FACES CONTAINING THE BATH AND WASH BASINS ARE RESPECTIVELY AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM THE AXIS OF ROTATION SO THAT THE BATH AND BASINS ARE PRESENTED TO THE USER AT A CONVENIENT HEIGHT ABOVE THE FLOOR.

Description

R. BUCHER LAVATORY UNIT Nov. 23, 1971 3 Sheets-Shoot 1 Filed April 7, 1970 .ZWIl/VTOR IVE E 6012/15? R. BUCHER LAVAI'ORY UNIT Nov. 23, 1971 I5 Sheets-Sheet m Filed April 7, 1970 Fig. 2

f M W I R. BUCHER LAVATORY UNIT Nov. 23, 1971 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7. 1970 United States Paten US. Cl. l4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lavatory unit comprises an elongate body means of substantially trapezoidal cross-section which is mounted for rotation through 360* about a horizontal longitudinal axis. In each of the principal longitudinal faces of the body means a washing facility is provided. One face contains a bath, a second face contains a pair of wash basins and a third face a childs bath. By rotating the body means the various washing facilities can be brought into use according to whichever principal face is horizontally uppermost. The faces containing the bath and wash basins are respectively at different distances from the axis of rotation so that the bath and basins are presented to the user at a convenient height above the floor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a lavatory unit which contains various washing facilites, such as a bath, wash basins and conveniently a childs bath, these facilities being provided by an elongate body means which is rotatable about its horizontal axis so that either bath or the wash basins can be brought into a position for use by rotating the body means.

A lavatory unit has previously been proposed which consists of a body member which is used as a bath and in one longitudinal face of which there is provided a wash basin, the basin being positioned on the front longitudinal face when the body member is in a position in which the bath can be used. The body member can be swung through 90 rearwardly about a horizontal axis into a second position in which the wash basin is uppermost and can be used. The waste fittings in the bath and wash basins are connected to a drainage outlet by means of flexible pipes and during the rotary movement of the body member they move through a semi-circular slot in the end face of the body member.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved lavatory unit of the above kind in which additional washing facilities can be provided on other longitudinal faces of the body means.

It is another object of the invention to provide a lavatory unit in which the various washing facilities are pre- I sented to the user at a convenient height above the floor.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a lavatory unit which has improved arrangements for conducting waste Water away from the rotatable body member.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a lavatory unit of the above kind in which the body means can be rotated through 360.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a lavatory unit comprising an elongate body means of substantially trapezoidal crosssection mounted for rotation through an arc of at least 360 about a horizontal longitudinal axis substantially equidistant from the four corners of the cross-section, a bath extending inwardly of said body means from a first longitudinal face thereof and other washing facilities 3,fi2l,4 94 Patented Nov. 23, 197i extending inwardly of said body means from at least one other longitudinal face thereof, said bath having a central longitudinal axis approximately coincident with the axis of rotation of said body means and the perpendicular distance between said first face and said axis of rotation being approximately half the perpendicular distance between said axis of rotation and that longitudinal face of said body means which is opposite said first face.

One and preferably two wash basins arranged side by side are built into a second longitudinal face of the elongate body means, and a childs bath and an adjacent working surface on which a child can be wrapped in a towel or changed are provided on another longitudinal face, preferably the longitudinal face which is opposite the said first face. The remaining side face of the body means, opposite the wash basins, may be formed as a recessed storage area.

Preferably the first-mentioned or adult bath is offset relatively to the central vertical longitudinal plane of the body means so that the perpendicular distance from the side face in which the wash basin is located to the axis of rotation is greater than the perpendicular distance from the opposite side face to the axis of rotation and greater than the perpendicular distance from the face opposite that in which the bath is provided to the axis of rotation, each of these distances being in turn greater than the perpendicular distance from the first face containing the bath cavity to the axis of rotation.

It is convenient to at least partly encase the elongate rotatable body means, and to provide spray nozzles within the casing arranged to direct cleaning sprays into the washing facilities as the body means is rotated. For filling the baths or basins, a faucet is provided. To permit the baths and basins to be emptied, they are provided with closeable waste means which run out through one end face of the body means. A semi-circular U-shaped channel is mounted adjacent that end face for receiving waste water discharged from the waste means. The waste means, which are pipes, project out of the end face and the pipe ends are bent so that, when a. particular longitudinal face of the body means is horizontally uppermost to present the washing facility therein for use, the end of the waste pipe which leads from that facility will discharge water into approximately the lowest point of the channel. There is also preferably a sloping drainage channel provided which extends longitudinally beneath the elongate body member in the base of the unit.

A lavatory unit according to the present invention offers a number of advantages. First, it is possible to accommodate in a very small space a number of washing facilities which can be brought into the position for use when required. The construction of the invention furthermore enables all the space available to be fully utilised and, at the same time, the various washing facilities accommodated in the trapezoidal body means are, because of their varying distances from the axis of rotation, at a correct and convenient height from the floor when in position for use. A further advantage of the invention resides in the fact that the lavatory unit can be prefabricated in the factory and can be fitted as a single unit on site.

By way of example, the accompanying drawings illustrate, in schematic form, a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of lavatory unit in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view showing the disposition of the drainage means, and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the portion of the unit illustrated in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The lavatory unit of this invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, and consists of a base 2 and two upstanding end walls 3 connected with the base and each other by a semi-cylindrically curved rear wall 4 fitted with two sealing strips 15. An elongate body means 20 is mounted between the end walls 3 on pivot means 18 for rotation about a horizontal longitudinal axis. The end walls 3 are further interconnected by a shelf 5 which is sealed to the rear wall 4 by a cover strip 19.

The end walls 3 have circular slide faces 3a, over which the ends of the body means 20 slide during rotation. These two end faces could, of course, each be provided with a wheel disc rotatable in or on appropriate bearings.

The elongate rotatable body means 20 is of substantially trapezoidal cross-section with rounded corners. The axis of rotation 9 is substantially equidistant from each of the four corners of the body means. A bath 8 is set into the body means 20 and extends inwardly from a first longitudinal face 30 of the body member. The central longitudinal axis of the bath 8 coincides with the axis of rotation 9, and the perpendicular distance a between the face 30 and the axis of rotation 9 is approximately half the perpendicular distance b between the axis of rotation 9 and the longitudinal face 31 of the body means opposite to the face 30. In the preferred embodiment, the two faces 30 and 31 are the parallel faces of the trapezoidal cross-section. In this Way sufficient space is available for incorporating in the other longitudinal faces of the body means other washing facilities that are at different heights from the floor when in position for use.

Two wash basins 11 and 12 are set into one of the other side faces 10 of the body means 20, and the remaining side face 32 opposite the side face 10 is formed to provide a recessed storage area 14. Since a greater depth is required to accommodate the wash basins than the storage area and since in addition the upper edges of the basins should be at a higher level than the storage area when presented for use, the bath 8 is not disposed symmetrically in relation to the central longitudinal plane normal to the longitudinal face 30 but is slightly offset (toward the bottom in FIG. 2) in such a manner that the perpendicular distance c from the side face 32 to the axis of rotation 9 is less than the perpendicular distance d from the side face 10 in which the wash basins 11 and 12 are located, to the axis of rotation 9. On the longitudinal face 31 of the body means opposite the face 30 there is provided a facility comprising a childs bath 13 and an adjacent working surface. The distance b is greater than the distance 0 but is somewhat smaller than the distance d. The distance a is in turn smaller than any of b, c and d.

The lavatory unit is illustrated in FIG. 1 with the face 10 of the body means 20 horizontal and uppermost so presenting the basins 11 and 12 for use. The other facilities, namely the bath 8, the childs bath 13 and the storage area 14 are presented for use by rotating the body means 20 so that the respective face 30, 31 or 32 is brought into the horizontal uppermost position. Because of the different distances of the upper edges of the various facilities from the axis of rotation, the facilities will clearly be presented for use at various heights from the floor convenient for the particular purpose for which they are intended. The lavatory unit 1 is provided with lock-ing means (not illustrated) for securing the body means 20 in the various rotational positions. The body means 20 may be rotated manually, but use is expediently made of a motor which is controlled by push buttons to bring the various facilities into position for use when the appropriate button is pressed. Thus the various facilities can be used in turn Without appreciable loss of time. The lavatory unit further comprises, mounted on the shelf 5, a water mixing unit 6 comprising two taps 17 and outlets 7.

The bath 8, the wash basins 11 and 12 and the childs bath 13 each embody a waste outlet fitting. Waste water from the bath 8 is led through a waste pipe 21, see FIG. 3, waste water from both basins 11 and 12 is led through a waste pipe 22 and from the childs bath 13 through a waste pipe 23. The pipes 21, 22 and 23 emerge from the body member 20 at one of its end faces and their projecting ends are bent so that each pipe end points vertically downwards when the facility to which it is connected is in position for use. A drainage trough 24 in the form of a semi-circular channel of U-shaped cross-section is provided adjacent the end face from which the ends of the waste pipe 21, 22 and 23 project. The lowest point at the center of the channel 24 is connected to a drain through a syphon trap. The Waste pipes 21, 22 and 23 respectively discharge their waste water into the channel 24 at approximately the lowest point in the channel. The ends of the pipes projecting from the body means, as well as the drainage channel are, of course, enclosed within a casing so that they are not visible from the outside.

Spray nozzles 25 may be provided in the semi-cylindrical rear wall 4 for discharging sprays of Water to swill out the various facilities as the body means 20 is rotated. If required, further nozzles (not shown) can be provided to supply a drying medium, for example a stream of warm air. In this way the rear wall and the various washing facilities can be cleaned and then dried. A sloping drainage channel 2a is provided in the base 2 of the unit extending longitudinally beneath the rotatable body means 20 towards a trap 217.

It will be appreciated that the description of the present embodiment is given for purposes of illustration only, and that the invention can be embodied in other forms within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lavatory unit comprising an elongate body means of substantially trapezoidal cross-section, said elongate body means possessing a plurality of faces extending longitudinally thereof, each of said longitudinally extending faces being capable of containing a desired lavatory facility, means for mounting said elongate body means for rotation through an arc of at least 360 about a substantially horizontal longitudinal axis substantially equidistant from the four corners of the cross-section, so that a desired lavatory facility can be placed in a desired position of use by selective rotation of the rotatably mounted elongate body means, a bath extending inwardly of said body means from a first longitudinal face thereof and other Washing facilities extending inwardly of said body means from at least one other longitudinal face thereof, said bath having a central longitudinal axis approximately coincident with the axis of rotation of said body means and the perpendicular distance between said first face and said axis of rotation being approximately half the perpendicular distance between said axis of rotation and that longitudinal face of said body means which is opposite said first face.

2. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said other washing facilities include at least one wash basin.

3. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said other washing facilities include a childs bath at that longitudinal face of said body means which is opposite said first face, and said opposite face further comprises a working surface.

4. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a storage area recessed inwardly of said body means from the longitudinal face opposite that in which said at least one wash basin is provided.

5. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said other washing facilities include at least one wash basin set into said body means from a second longitudinal face adjacent said first face, said body means has a third longitudinal face opposite said second face and a fourth longitudinal face opposite said first face, and wherein said bath is otf-set relatively to the central vertical longitudinal plane of said first face whereby the perpendicular distance between said second face and said axis of rotation of said body means is greater than the perpendicular distance between said third face and said axis' of rotation and greater than the perpendicular distance between said fourth face and said axis of rotation and said perpendicular distance between said first face and said axis of rotation is less than any of said distances.

6. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising non-rotatable casing means at least partly enclosing said elongate body means and spray nozzle means mounted in said casing means for directing a cleaning spray against said body means during rotation thereof.

7. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising closable waste means leading from said bath and other washing facilities to an end face of said elongate body means.

8. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a semi-circular U-shaped channel adjacent said end face for receiving waste water discharged from said waste means.

9. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim 8, wherein said waste means comprise pipes projecting out of said end face and having projecting ends which are bent so that when a particular longitudinal face of said body means is horizontally uppermost the end of the Waste pipe leading from the washing facility in said face is adapted to discharge into approximately the lowest point of said channel.

10. A lavatory unit as claimed in claim ll further comprising a sloping drainage channel extending longitudinally beneath said elongate body means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,613 8/1919 Cody 44 2,012,154 8/1935 Bates 4--4 2,582,003 1/1952 Candlin, Jr 4168 3,130,420 4/1964 Colucci 44 HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 4168, 169

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