WO1987003028A1

WO1987003028A1 - Water closet

Info

Publication number: WO1987003028A1
Application number: PCT/FR1986/000099
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harry Vivier
Original assignee: Harry Vivier
Priority date: 1985-11-19
Filing date: 1986-03-21
Publication date: 1987-05-21
Also published as: AU5587486A; EP0245280A1; FR2590293A1

Abstract

There are disclosed a fixed bowl (50) cleaned by a water flush and/or a means such as a spray ramp providing a plurality of water jets; a rotary seat (55) which is freely mounted on top of the bowl to rub its upper and lower faces on brushes wetted with a cleaning solution; a removable wall (49) for housing said cleaning means; a drawer (57) displacing a rotary brush on the rear portion of said seat; a door (51) closing a cavity for loading the cleaning product; a push-button (24) for starting an operation cycle.

Description

Toilet installation (W.C.)

The invention relates to sanitary installations, more particularly to self-cleaning WC installations for the bowl and its seat.

In public places there is a design of WC described in the invention FR.773670, where the bowl and its seat need to be tilted for cleaning.

This type of toilet has already resulted in the death of a child who was tilted into the cleaning station by finding himself upside down violently poked by a brush sprayed with a toxic solution, and his feet in the air with the body trapped between the bowl and its movable back folding into the cleaning station. It is indeed the first time that the W.C. have killed. This accident occurred in 1981 in La Seyne-surMer, Var department.

To prevent the recurrence of such an accident, safety devices such as presence detectors have been provided. But the disadvantage of this invention, which is the tilting of the bowl, has not been eliminated, while the best security is not to tilt the bowl.

In addition, these toilets are very expensive due to their complexity, and their size does not allow their installation in communities such as waiting rooms in general, including those of the liberal professions, hospitals, offices, cafes, hotels, restaurants.

The main purpose of the present description is to reveal a different invention for one self-cleaning of the bowl and its seat, so that the bowl is not movable, and in particular that it does not tip over.

another object, for this invention, is to design an ins simple, compact, and the most efficient installation possible.

Another object, for this invention, is to design a robust, tamper-proof installation.

Another object, for this invention, is to design an installation adaptable to communities having little space, and adaptable to public places having more space.

The means to achieve said goals are: - a particular shape of the bowl divided into an upper part comprising vertical walls and a lower part where said walls converge towards a central or rear drainage hole, this lower part being high minimum and covered with water renewed each time the bowl is cleaned, so that droppings are prevented from dirtying the bowl; - a single seat and a rotary brush driven by a single electric motor; the movable seat, without tilting, and securely joined to the fixed bowl by a sliding assembly extended in an arc, and the means for cleaning the seat enclosed under a cover without door opening, and / or embedded behind a wall partition, removable and self-contained; - different means of evacuating the contents of the bowl depending on the space available for the installation of W.C, one of the means for evacuating garbage accidentally thrown into the bowl.

It should be noted that the design of the present invention does not pose any danger of use and that, consequently, the WC installation can operate without a safety device such as a presence detector. However, for a particular application to the present WC installation, an automatic triggering can be provided as soon as a user leaves and according to known means for detecting the presence, automatic opening and closing of the access door. at the toilet According to the invention, the installation uses a fixed toilet bowl, designed to sit, a movable seat, means for cleaning the bowl, means for cleaning the seat, characterized in that it comprises a programmer ( 45) controlling the operations of an operating cycle including: - cleaning of a bowl (1) by a flushing device and / or a means such as a sprinkler rail (3) placed under the seat and directing a plurality of water jets on the wall of the bowl; - The rotation of a seat 08) fixed horizontally to the top of the bowl by a sliding assembly, and engaged with means for, during its rotation, rub its face from below and from above against brushes (14), (33 ) wetted with a cleaning solution.

The invention is explained in more detail using drawings described chronologically.

Figure 1 is a top view, partial and schematic, of the installation comprising: - a bowl 1 with a central hole 2 for discharging its contents; - An annular watering ramp 3 inside the bowl, and connected to a solenoid valve for cleaning the bowl; - a flush tank 4 including a float valve 5 and an overflow pipe 6 extending a plug; - An arm 7 hooking said pipe 6 for raising the plug, and rotatably mounted on the front side of the tank for tilting by the core 8 of an electromagnet; - An electrical contactor 9 closed by the elevation of the float 10 at the end of the filling of the tank 4 to allow the triggering of an operating cycle each time the tank is filled; - A container 11 collecting a cleaning liquid to evacuate it into the bowl by its partially folded front edge; - A spray bar 12, connected to a solenoid valve, for rinsing said container; - rollers 13 with a horizontal axis to support the seat provided on the bowl 1; - Brushes 14 fitted on the bottom of the container, and intended to rub the underside of said seat; - A pinion 15 intended to be mounted at the end of the shaft of an electric motor, and meshing with a speed reducing pinion 16 mounted on the bottom of the container 11 and intended to mesh, by its small diameter, with a toothed crown of said seat.

Figure 2 is a schematic, partial and side view of the installation comprising: - a cover 17, shown punctured, provided for enclosing the tank 4 and the cleaning means; - A seat 18 placed on the bowl 1 and permanently engaged in said cover; - A toothed ring 19 for driving said seat in rotation by the pinion 16;

- The reservoir 4 including protrusions 20, 21, intended to serve as supports for the cleaning means; - A tilting hook 22 rotatably mounted on the arm 7, and engaged with a rim of the overflow pipe 6 for raising the cap of the tank 4 of the flush, the cap descending during the tilting of the high hook against the inclined plane I; - an electrical contactor 23 for triggering an operating cycle of the installation by the pusher 24; a pipe 25 connecting the bowl 1 to the tank 4, or directly to a solenoid valve, to provide a high flow of water expelling the contents of the bowl by a siphon 26.

Figure 3 is an elevational view partially in section of the installation comprising: - the cover 17 shown punctured and including a lower opening, front, narrow, such as a horizontal slot 27 for the penetration of the seat 18; - A solenoid valve placed under the cover 17 to supply the annular watering ramp 3, engaged under the seat, and pierced with a succession of radial holes directed on the wall of the bowl 1; - the ring gear 19 formed of circular segments; a rim 28 at the top of the bowl engaged in a groove formed by a circular cut in the seat and in the segmental crown 19 fixed to the seat by screws, so that the seat is trapped in the bowl by a sliding assembly in enjoyed several points; - an electric motor 29, reversible at each operating cycle, driving the seat 18 in rotation, and cooperating with a torque limiter 30, a toothed wheel 31 meshing with the toothed wheel 32; - A rotary brush 33, with a vertical axis, driven in rotation by the electric motor 29, and a gear of toothed wheels 31, 32, 34; a jack or an electromagnet 35, the core 8 of which is in contact with a ball freely crimped at the top of the shaft 36, for lowering the brush 33 on the seat 18, and lowering the toothed wheel 34 compressing a spring 37 and meshing with the toothed wheel 32 before the rotation of said motor, and raising the plug of the flush tank by the arm 7 penetrating into said tank; a device for producing and distributing a cleaning solution including technical means cooperating intimately, such as a solenoid valve 38 supplying water with a turnstile 39 providing a circular sprinkling on a chemical, solid, soluble and hollow such as stack of tubes 40 loaded one by one in a container open at its upper part, and a pipe 41 directing on the seat 18 the solution thus produced, the turnstile being placed inside said soluble tubes 40; an electric hot air generator 42, such as a small hair dryer in a fixed position, on which a diffuser 43 is adapted to direct hot air onto the seat; - an electrical contactor 44 forming a general switch when the cover 17 is removed; a programmer 45 controlling the operations of an operating cycle, connected to all of the electrical means, and including electromechanical or electronic timers, according to the usual techniques of those skilled in the art in electromechanics and electronics.

Figure 4 is a top view of the installation along the section line AA of Fig.3, and comprising: - the seat 18 in the form of a cylindrical disc pierced with a large central and oval hole; a means of the seat, such as a notch, a protuberance 46 on the crown 19 acting on an electrical contactor 47 for a fixed stop of the rota tion of the seat according to the fixed stop technique used for automobile windscreen wipers including a direct power switch and a power supply derived by said contactor 47; the brush 33, including a hollow frame extending the pipe 41, and fixed to the shaft 36 by a pin in the form of an elastic clip 48.

Figure 5 is a front view, partial and in section, of a local WC comprising: - a removable wall partition and a single block 49; - A suspended bowl 50 and the seat 18 rotated; - the push button 24; a door 51 for closing an opening allowing the recharging of the cleaning product 40 in a container 52.

Figure 6 is a view along the section line B-B. Behind the partition 49 is located a technical space containing: - a base 53 supporting the bowl 50 and the means under the cover 17; - the container 52 fixed to the said partition; - the drain pipes 25, 54 engaged with the base 53.

Figure 7 is a top view in section of a WC room comprising: - the partition 49 mounted on hinges and supporting the bowl 50 assembled to a rotary seat 55, and supporting the means for cleaning the bowl and the seat , The seat 55 is of form studied for its esthetics and its comfort by reducing its outside diameter compared to the seat 18 (fig.4). This modification of the seat requires that the electric hot air generator 42, and the brush 33, be advanced on the rear and annular part of the seat, and then removed after cleaning the seat. For this, the means 42 and the brush 33 can be suspended from a cover 56, shown punctured, from a drawer 57 open below and behind, and moved by a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 58 connected to two three-way solenoid valves. Alternatively, the brush is not suspended from the drawer, but suspended from an arm 59 mounted for free rotation, for example on the motor shaft 29, to be moved forward by means such as a cylinder, electro - magnet 60, and recalled by a spring 61, so that the brush is no longer in contact with the cork during the action of the generator 42 drying the seat during its last rotational turns. The brush is rotated by a hollow shaft secured to a pulley supported by the arm 59 and connected by a belt 62 to a pulley secured to the motor shaft 29 fixed on the tank 4 of the flush. According to this variant, the garden hose 41 is introduced into a sheath engaged in the hollow shaft. The pinion 16 is supported by a free arm, recalled by a spring, such as the arm 59, and secured to a pulley connected by a belt 63 to a pulley secured to the motor shaft 29. Therefore, the seat and the brush are driven simultaneously in rotation by the electric motor. The jack 58 has one of its ends fixed to the reservoir 4, and the other end, such as the piston, fixed to the front side of the drawer 57.

Figure 8 is an elevational view in partial section of the device (38 to 41, 52) shown in fig.3 and 5. The sprinkler 39, which may include one or two arms, is joined to a supply pipe 64.

FIG. 9 is a detail view, partially in section, of a means of FIG. 8 comprising: - the turnstile 39 freely joined to the supply pipe 64 by a nut 65.

FIG. 10 is a diagram giving an example of the safety of the operations of a cycle programmed by a camshaft in the form of circular sectors angularly positioned and driven by a gear motor to act on electrical contactors. According to this sequence, each of the letters from A to F indicates: A - supply of the programmer 45 by the push button 24 acting on the electrical contactor 23; B - advancement then retraction of the drawer 57 by the jack 58; C - advancement then retreat of the brush 33 by the electromagnet 35 or 60 and the spring 37 or 61; D - motor supply 29 rotating the seat 18 or 55 and the brush 33; E - opening and closing of the electro valve 38 for supplying the turnstile 39 of the device for producing and distributing a cleaning solution, and for the solenoid valve supplying the spray bars 3, 12; F - start and end of the supply of the electric hot air generator 42.

Figure 11 is a side view in partial section of the installation shown with variants for its use in public places, and comprising: - a local WC 66 including an access opening closed by a door 67; - a service room 68 including an access opening closed by a door 69; - A means of volumetric cleaning of the room of W.C. by a sprinkler 70 suspended from the ceiling; - a garbage chute 71; - A hand basin formed by a water outlet 72 connected to a solenoid valve under the cover 17, and directing a jet of water into the toilet bowl; - A high pressure pump 73 sucking water from a tank comprising a float valve, but without drain, under the cover 17, to feed the annular watering boom 3 (fig-1 and 3); - A conduit for discharging the contents of the bowl including an automatic valve formed by a tilting plate 74 rotatably mounted on a hinge, open and closed by a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 75 connected to two three-way solenoid valves; a water level detector retained in the bowl, formed by a float 76 suspended from an electrical contactor connected to a solenoid valve, this detector being able to be completed with an overflow flow duct; - a pit for the engagement of a device formed by a combination of means for stopping and picking up the garbage thrown accidentally into the bowl and by the garbage chute, and including a pierced basket 77, bottomless, containing a pierced slide 78 made of longitudinal strips, not contiguous, whose inclined plane transports the garbage 79 to accumulate in the handling basket 77; - a siphon 80 evacuating materials that have not been retained by the slide.

It will be noted: - (fig. 1 and 2), that the watering boom 12 can be eliminated by leaving a space, at the level of the container 11, between the flushing outlet of the reservoir 4 and the pipe 25, so that the said container is rinsed by flowing this rinsing water into the bowl 1 through its folded front edge; - That the rim 28 can be designed in a specific, arcuate part, including a succession of concavities arranged in an arc of a circle, so as to place a succession of balls allowing a reduction of the friction of the seat on said rim 28 of the bowl; - That the top of the bowl may include a succession of holes in an arc for the fixing of the specific part forming the rim 28; - that the torque limiter 30 (fig.3) can be replaced or supplemented by thermal protection, associated with a circuit breaker, in the event of accidental overloads of the motor 29; - that the electrical contactor 47 fixed stop of the seat rotation, can be replaced by another position detector. In addition, the installation operates without a reservoir of a cleaning solution, but with a device (38 to 41, 52) for the punctual production of said solution, allowing: - space saving in the device and in storage; - convenience and speed of loading the solid product.

Claims

Claims:

1 - According to the invention, the installation uses a toilet bowl associated with a movable seat, means for cleaning the bowl, means for cleaning the seat, characterized in that it comprises a programmer (45) controlling the operations of an operating cycle including: - the cleaning of a bowl (1) by a flushing device and / or a means such as a sprinkler (3) placed under the seat and directing a plurality water jets on the wall of the bowl; the rotation of a seat (18), (55) fixed horizontally to the top of the bowl by a sliding assembly, and engaged with means for, during its rotation, rub its face from below and from above against brushes ( 14), (33) wetted with a cleaning solution.

2 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that the sliding assembly comprises a rim in an arc (28) at the top of the bowl engaged with a toothed crown (19) fixed under the seat for its rotation drive by a motor electric (29).

3 - Installation, according to 2, characterized in that the top of the bowl comprises a succession of holes in an arc for the fixing of said flange (28).

4 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that a means of the seat, such as a notch, a protuberance (46) allows a fixed stop of the rotation of the seat.

5 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that the top of the seat is cleaned by a rotary brush (33) with a hollowed-out frame for directing a cleaning liquid on the seat, and movable mounting for advancing on the seat by means such as cylinder, electromagnet (35), (60), the seat being dried by an electric generator of hot air (42), such as a small hair dryer.

6 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that the cleaning solution is produced and distributed by a device including closely cooperating technical means such as a turnstile (39) providing a circular sprinkling on a chemical, solid and soluble, formed by a stack of tubes (40) loaded with to one in a container (52) open at its upper part and including a pipe (41) directing the solution on the seat (18), the turnstile being placed inside the said soluble tubes (40).

7 - Installation, according to 1 and 5, characterized in that a drawer (57) makes it possible to advance the brush (33) and the generator (42) on the annular and rear part of the seat (55) driven in rotation for its cleaning, the drawer being retracted after said cleaning.

8 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that it comprises a hand basin formed by an outlet of a water jet (68) above the seat, and directed into the toilet bowl.

9 - Installation, according to 1, characterized in that the contents of the bowl are evacuated by a conduit including an automatic valve (70, 71).

10 - Installation, according to 1 and 9, characterized in that the refuse and the contents of the bowl are directed and collected by a combination of means including said automatic valve, and comprising a pierced handling basket (77) containing a pierced slide ( 78) formed of non-contiguous lamellae.