WO2008111910A1

WO2008111910A1 - Toilet room comprising a rotatable and/or slidable water closet

Info

Publication number: WO2008111910A1
Application number: PCT/SE2008/050293
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lydia Nutsou
Original assignee: Lydia Nutsou
Priority date: 2007-03-15
Filing date: 2008-03-17
Publication date: 2008-09-18

Abstract

Rotatable and/or slidablewater closet (200) aredescribed. An embodiment of the water closet (200) comprises a rotatable joint (220) in the drain pipe (215) of the water closet (200), which drain pipe (215) is adapted to be connected to a vertical sewage drainpipe inlet (217) in a toilet. The joint allows the water closet (200) portion above the joint (220) to rotate around a vertical axis with respect to the floor (204)from a first position providing good access to the water closet to a second position providing more limited access to the water closet but which may be closer to wash facilities which enable a user to more easily perform personal hygiene. Such water closets simplify a visit to the toilet for a disabled person and enable a more compact disabled toilet than possible with a conventional water closet.

Description

Toilet room comprising a rotatable and/or slidable water closet

Technical field of the invention

The predent invention relates to water closets adapted for disabled persons.

Background of the invention

Physically disabled persons have, according to the rules of the United Nations, the rights to participation and equality in society. One important matter is the availability of toilets for disabled persons or persons with special needs in public buildings. For example, a Swedish legislation valid from 1 July 2001 requires that easily removable obstacles for fulfilling this have to be removed by 2010. This implies that large investments have to be made to equip every public building with a disabled toilet.

One reason why the number of disabled toilets has been limited is that conventionally constructed disabled toilets require a large space, which simply is not available in some buildings. Another is that the recent legalization has not been taken into consideration when providing toilet facilities.

In addition the standard concerning floor size of a disabled toilet to be considered as being available for everyone has changed from 1.7x1.7 m² to 2.2x2.2 m². Hence a huge number of existing disabled toilets have to be rebuilt, which is very costly.

Conventional water closets for disabled persons do not differ much from an ordinary water closet. In most cases the provision of two hinged armrests is the only difference. This kind of water closet and its placement against a wall in the room makes it troublesome for someone to help a disabled person, at least without suffering from a bad working position. The furnishing of the room requires a lot of space with the wash basin placed far from the toilet in order to be approachable for a disabled person using a ^■wheelchair, which is one of the reasons why a disabled toilet has to be large.

Summary of the invention

Obviously the prior art has drawbacks with regards to being able to provide a water closet that facilitates the use of the water closet for a disabled person and that fully exploit the surface available in a disabled toilet. The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art. This is achieved by toilets and water closets as defined in the independent claims.

A toilet according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises a movable water closet with a joint in the drain pipe, which is adapted to be connected to a vertical sewage drainpipe inlet. The joint allows the water closet portion above the joint to rotate around a vertical axis with respect to the floor from a first position providing good access to the water closet to a second position providing more limited access to the water closet.

A toilet according to a second embodiment of the present invention comprises a movable water closet which is adapted to slide from a first position providing good access to the water closet to a second position providing more limited access to the water closet.

The expression "good access" is intended to mean that sufficient space is provided around the water closet to allow a wheel chair to be positioned in its vicinity and to allow an assistant to help a disabled person to and from the wheel chair and on and off the water closet without having to adopt harmful or uncomfortable working positions or postures.

In a water closet according to the invention the joint further comprises a sealing gasket. The sealing gasket may further comprise sliding bearings and/ or ball bearings to provide a sealed and rotatable or slidable joint. Optionally floor contactable supporting means such as ball bearings or wheels may be arranged between the water closet and the floor to help carrying the load from the water closet and the user.

Accordingly the present invention provides a water closet that is rotatable and/ or slidable between a first position and a second position, which simplifies a visit to the toilet for a disabled person and enables a more compact disabled toilet than possible with a conventional water closet.

Furthermore further embodiments of a water closet of the present invention features additional features which may be useful for a disabled person in the form of extendable arms to aid to get onto the water closet, contrasting features, motorization, and easily accessible controllers.

Embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

Brief description of the drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art disabled toilet furnished with a water closet and a wash basin,

Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing of a water closet in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 3a and 3b are top views of a water closet according to the present invention placed close to a wash basin, in the normal position and in the position used for washing, respectively,

Fig. 4a and 4b show cross sections through two types of sliding bearings for use in the joint according to the present invention, respectively,

Fig. 5 is a side view of a water closet according to the present invention, with arms extended and arms retracted, and

Fig. 6 is a side view of a cantilever water closet according to the present invention.

Fig. 7a and 7b are front view and top view, respectively, of a floor-mounted water closet that is slidably movable.

Figures 8a and 8b are perspective schematic views of a wall-mounted water closet that is slidably movable. Detailed description of embodiments

The present invention is related to a water closet 100 for a disabled toilet 101. In the prior art, as shown in Fig. 1, a disabled toilet 101 is furnished with a conventional water closet 100 with arm rests 108 and a wash basin 102. The water closet 100 is placed close to one wall 103 and provided with as much space as possible on the front and the sides to give room for e.g. a wheel chair or a personal assistant. The water closet 100 is supplied with water for flushing through a supply water pipe 105 A sewage drain pipe 106 leading down in the floor 104 of the building is connected to the water closet 100.

The present invention provides a rotatable water closet 200, which is adapted to be installed in an existing disabled toilet 101, such as the one shown in Fig. 1, or in a new disabled toilet 201. By having a rotatable water closet 200 the disabled toilet 201 can be furnished in a different, more compact, way. Consequently the wash basin 202 can be placed much closer to the water closet 200 and, if desired, the wash basin 202 can be reached without leaving the water closet 200 by rotating the water closet 200 so that the front of the water closet 200 faces the wash basin 202. Furthermore rotation of the water closet may make it is easier to find a convenient position for entering the water closet 200 and an assistant helping disabled persons can find a better position and adopt a better working posture to help them onto and off the water closet.

In one embodiment of the present invention, shown in Fig. 2, the water closet 200 comprises a bowl 210, preferably made of a ceramic material like porcelain, for collecting faeces, urine and toilet paper. A water pipe 211 leads from a water cistern 213, via a discharge valve 212, to the top of the bowl 210. The supply water pipe 205 to the cistern 213 is in this particular embodiment a flexible tube. Preferably the bowl 210 and the cistern 213 are made in one piece. The water closet 200 is flushed by triggering the valve 212 with a button 214 located, for example, on top of the cistern 213. A drain pipe 215 leads off from the bottom of the bowl 210, through a "S"-shaped water trap 216 to prevent the passage of sewer gases, down to an outlet opening 217 in the bottom of the water closet 200 adapted to be connected to the inlet opening 209 of a sewage drain pipe 206 in the floor 204 of a disabled toilet 201. At the end portion of the drain pipe 215 there is a joint 220, which allows the water closet 200 portion above the joint 220 to rotate with respect to the floor 204. The joint 220 comprises a sealing gasket 221 to provide a hygienic barrier between the interior of the sewage drain pipe 206 and the outside. Another object with the sealing gasket 221 is to enable rotation, which is accomplished by a sliding bearing 222 of two circular rings of a ceramic material, which are pressed together. A ball bearing 223 is arranged at the sealing gasket 221 to carry part of the load exerted by the water closet 200 and a person using the water closet 200, which results in that less force is needed to rotate the water closet 200 and also that the stress on the joint 220 is decreased. Optionally at least one wheel 224, preferably a castor wheel, can be attached under bowl 210 to help carrying the load from the water closet 200 and the user.

In one embodiment of the present invention the water closet 200 is essentially symmetrical about the vertical mid- plane of the water closet 200 and the water closet 200 is at least rotatable up to 180°. Hence the water closet 200 can be installed and used with the wash basin 202 on either side. Optionally rotation is only allowed to a limited number of predefined positions, e.g. 0° and 90°, corresponding to the normal position, as shown in Fig. 3a, and a position for using the wash basin 202, as shown in Fig. 3b, respectively.

In another embodiment of the present invention the sealing gasket 221 is formed by a cylindrical upper drain pipe portion 215a leading from the bowl 210, which portion 215a is inserted into another cylindrical lower drain pipe portion 215b comprising the drain pipe outlet 217, which is adapted to be connected to the sewage drain pipe inlet 209, to obtain a sealed and rotatable joint 220. The outer diameter of the upper portion (215a) is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower portion (215b) and the areas in contact work as sliding bearings. Optionally the upper portion (215a) and the lower portion (215b) of the drain pipe (215) may be provided with mutually engaging threaded portions that are fitted to into each other to form the sealed and rotatable joint (220).

All embodiments of the present invention may optionally be provided with two curved arms 230, each having a handle 231 in the end portion thereof and protruding from the sides of the water closet 200 in such a way that the arms 230 may be used as arm rests, which also can be used by the person using the water closet to get some help to sit up on the water closet. Moreover the arms 230 make it easier to accomplish the rotation by using the arms 230 as levers. As shown in Fig. 5 in another embodiment of the present invention, the arms 230 are extendable from a first end position where the handles 231 are close to the sides of the water closet 200 and completely out of the way for the user of the water closet 200. In a second end position the handles 231 protrude out in front of the water closet 200 where they can be used by the user of the water closet 200. The arms 230 may be telescoped in and out or the arms 230 may be in one piece and adapted to be fed into the floor 204 beneath the water closet 200. To further assist a disabled user of the water closet 200 the height of the seat 218 may be adjustable and the handles 231, the seat 218 and the seat lid 219 may be coloured, e.g. black and the rest of the water closet coloured white in order to have as great a contrast as possible between different parts of the water closet 200 making the details of the water closet 200 more visible for persons with defective sight.

A water closet in accordance with the present invention may be provided with motorized rotation and/ or arm movement. The rotation and/ or arm movement may be controlled with a controller 232 placed for example on the handles 231 of the arms 230.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention is essentially the same as the first of the above described embodiments, differing only in that the supply water pipe 205 for the cistern 213 and/ or a power supply lead 207 for the controller extend through the joint 220. This is especially advantageous when the water closet 200 is to be placed at distance from the toilet wall behind the water closet 200 since then there are no leads or pipes blocking the way behind or above the water closet 200, simplifying cleaning of the toilet and removing a tripping hazard.

The present invention has been described on the basis of a pedestal (free-standing) kind of a water closet 200, however it is not limited to this. The water closet 200 of the present invention may also be cantilever (wall hung) . Instead of the washdown construction described above, the bowl 210 can, without affecting the object of the present invention, have washout construction, i.e. with a shelf collecting the body waste before flushing. Other designs of the bowl 210 are also possible.

One embodiment of the present invention where the water closet 200 is wall hung is shown in Fig. 6. The drain pipe 315 leading from the bowl 310 to the sewage drain pipe inlet 309 is then preferably bent 90° and the joint 320 may be, as shown in Fig. 6, located in the vertical part of the drain pipe 315. The construction of the bowl 310 may be essentially the same as for the pedestal type, however different constructions are also conceivable within the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment the connection between the joint 320 and the wall 303 is hinged adjacent to the wall 303. Thereby the water closet (300) can be rotated around the vertical axis through the joint (320) and also around a vertical axis in connection to the wall (403).

In a further embodiment of the present invention a disabled toilet is provided in which a water closet is provided with means for slidably mounting it on the wall or floor of the toilet room. This may be achieved by joint 420 being adapted to enable a linear movement of the water closet 400 with respect to the floor or the wall of a toilet. Fig. 7a and 7b shows a water closet 400, which basically is designed as described in Fig. 2 but adapted for sliding movement. The joint 420 at the end portion of the drain pipe 415 is different from the above described embodiments. An upper drain pipe 415a portion is terminated with a cylindrical sliding bearing part 422a, which is adapted to slide on an elongated sliding bearing part 422b on the horizontal rim of a sewage trench 437 in the floor of the toilet. The trench 437 is analogous to a lower drain pipe portion, and is adapted to be connected to a sewage drain pipe inlet 409. The bottom 436 of the trench 437 is preferably inclined in such way that the bottom is the highest at each end point of the trench 437 and lowest in a position between the end points where the sewage drain pipe 406 is to be connected to the trench 437. Hence the body waste can flow under the influence of gravity to the sewage drain pipe inlet 409 at the lowest point of the trench. The water closet 400 can slide along the trench 427. A plurality of overlapping movable plates 438, four of which are shown in the figures, prevent passage of sewer gases from the trench. Other sealing means, such as a flexible fabric is also possible. The two plates 438 closest to the water closet are attached to the water closet 400 and two other plates 438 are attached to the ends of the trench 437. Mutually adjacent plates 438 overlap and can slide on each other.

Optionally cylindrical sliding bearing part 422a or another part of the water closet can be adapted to also allow rotation of the water closet. The linear joint 420 can be designed in other ways, e.g. as shown in figures 8a and 8b in which the water closet 400 is wall hung with a sewage trench and a slidable mounting means such as sliding plate 401 adapted to be integrated in the wall 404 of a disabled toilet. In these figures arm rests, sewage pipes and water supply connections are not shown in order to simplify the figures. Figure 8a shows in dashed lines the water closet 400 in a first position in which it is positioned away from the wash basin 402. In this position an assistant has good access to the disabled person and is able to help them into or out of a wheel chair without having to assume an uncomfortable or potentially harmful working position. Figure 8a shows in solid lines the water closet 400 in a second position in which it is positioned close to a wash basin 402 and an optional hand shower unit 403, in which position the user can clean himself or herself unaided as shown in figure 8b. In this position an assistant would have less access to the disable person than in said first position and it would be difficult for an assistant to help a disabled person into or out of a wheel chair because of the close proximity of the wash basin.

Preferably movement of the water closet is motorised by means of suitable electric, hydraulic or pneumatic motors or actuators and the movement of the water closet is controllable by a control device 405 mounted on the water closet itself and/ or on a lead 407 and/or on one or more wall panels 409. Optionally flushing of the water closet may be controlled by the same control device or a separate flush control device may be provided.

It is possible to provide wall hung sliding water closets with rotating means, for example a rotatable mounting on a wall plate, in order to permit both rotational and sliding movement of the water closet.

Irrespective of if the water closet 400 is wall hung or of pedestal type, the sewage trench can either be integrated in the wall or in the floor of the toilet, or it can be arranged on the wall or on the floor as a separate device.

Preferably the parts of water closets in contact with the floor of the toilet are provided with means such as wheels, rollers or low friction surfaces to facilitate sliding and, if necessary, rotation of the water closet.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements within the appended claims.

Claims

1. Toilet room comprising a water closet characterized in that said water closet is movable from a first position to a second position.

2. Toilet room according to claim 1 characterized in that said water closet is rotatable from said first position to said second position.

3. Toilet room according to claim 1 characterized in that said water closet is slidable from said first position to said second position.

4. A water closet (200) for use in a toilet room according to claim 1 or claim2 comprising a joint (220) in a drain pipe (215) of the water closet (200), the drain pipe is adapted to be connected to a vertical sewage drainpipe inlet (209), characterized in that the water closet (200) portion above the joint (220) is rotatable around a vertical axis.

5. A water closet (400) for use in a toilet room according to claim 1 or claim 3 characterized in that the water closet is provide with means for slidably mounting it on the floor or hung from the wall of a toilet room.

6. A water closet (200; 400) according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein it comprises floor contactable supporting means such as rollers, low friction surfaces, ball bearings (223) or wheels (224).

7. A water closet (200) according to any of claims 4-6, wherein an arm (230) extend from each side of the water closet (200), each arm (230) comprising a handle (231) in one end portion of the arm (230).

8. A water closet (200) according to claim 7, wherein the arm (230) is extendable out from the body of the water closet (200).

9. A water closet (200) according to claim 8, wherein a motorized driver extends or withdraws the arm (230) .

10. A water closet (200) according to any of claims 4-9, wherein the water closet comprises at least one motor or actuator for rotation and/or sliding of the water closet (200).