HK1100825B - Adjustable toilet bowl - Google Patents

Description

Adjustable flush toilet

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an adjustable toilet bowl for public use, which can freely adjust the height of the toilet bowl relative to the floor.

Background

The adjustable toilet is designed for people with physical disabilities, particularly for people with athletic disabilities, people undergoing rehabilitation procedures after various types of operations or surgical procedures, and is also suitable for people who are overweight and have physical abnormalities.

There are many toilets designed for use by physically disabled or overweight people who find it difficult to change from a standing position to a sitting position. These toilets typically have an armrest that allows the user to support themselves. There are also toilets mounted on a platform that can lift the user while others can go up and down. The disadvantage of these solutions is their limited range of use, in fact they require the installation of many supports and armrests (to provide support for the user) and do not solve the problem of the physically handicapped person using the toilet alone, especially when the potential user is unable to stand on his own or to maintain a stable standing position.

U.S. patent specification No.6,553,582 refers to an adjustable toilet bowl system. It comprises the following parts: a water purifying tank; a sewer pipe fixed to the ground; a toilet bowl fitted with a clean water inlet and a used water outlet; a flexible clean water pipe for flexibly connecting the clean water tank and the toilet inlet; a flexible used water conduit for flexibly connecting the toilet outlet to the waste pipe; a system for supporting a toilet bowl, comprising a plurality of individual toilet bowl adjustable stands, each stand being connected to the floor at one end and to the toilet bowl at the other end; a control system for controlling the carriages is connected to each carriage to move the carriages independently of each other to move the toilet bowl in multiple planes at any angle relative to the floor.

A disadvantage of the toilet to which us patent specification No.6,553,582 relates is that it limits the height to which the hydraulic prop can lift the toilet. Furthermore, the load of the bracket structure is rather heavy, so that a person using the toilet must move the toilet forward together with the user from its inclined position to a horizontal position. Another drawback of this toilet is that it is not suitable for use with a horizontal outlet for used water connected by a flexible extensible pipe to a sewer pipe placed vertically in the rear wall of the toilet.

For many disabled persons, especially physically disabled persons or persons who are too overweight, it is difficult, or often almost impossible, to use such a toilet.

Disclosure of Invention

The adjustable toilet, which forms the subject of the present invention, is fitted with a clean water inlet connected to a clean water tank by a flexible concertina conduit, and a used water outlet connected to a used water discharge pipe by a flexible concertina conduit. The clean water tank may be mounted directly on the rear of the toilet, on the wall of the toilet, or even within the wall. The used water is discharged through a horizontal outlet at the rear of the toilet or through a vertical outlet installed at the bottom of the toilet. The toilet consists of two basic elements. They are a lower element mounted on the ground and an upper element placed above the lower element.

The lower element of the toilet, fixed to the floor, constitutes a stable and permanent seat for the upper element, which is a usable element of the toilet. A mechanical system for lowering and raising the bowl is installed in the lower element. The system includes at least two screws and a drive system. In the lower part, these screws cooperate with a fixing element which imparts a rotational movement to them. Advantageously, the element is a gear. In order to ensure an efficient lifting and lowering of the upper element of the toilet, it is advantageous if the screw mounted in the lower element has a structure in the form of an elongated sleeve into which the screw with a left-hand thread enters at one end and the screw with a right-hand thread enters at the other end. Each sleeve is provided with an internal thread, so that the screw can be screwed in and out conveniently. The rotational movement of the sleeve may cause the screw to simultaneously extend and retract from its opening in a direction opposite to that of the sleeve. These sleeves are fitted with fixing elements which cause their rotational movement. Advantageously, the element is a gear. This type of screw can increase the lifting height of the upper toilet element in a stable manner.

A drive mechanism for sliding an upper member of a toilet up and down is installed in a lower member of the toilet. The drive mechanism comprises an electric motor powered by an electric current having a voltage that is safe for the user of the toilet, the voltage not exceeding 24V, and a flexible toothed belt or chain. The chain used by the drive mechanism is constructed in such a way as to ensure its trouble-free horizontal operation. The electric motor is actuated by the operation of a transmission, driving a belt, the movement of which is transformed into a simultaneous rotary movement of all the screws mounted in the lower element or of a sleeve mounted on a screw with a left-or right-handed thread. Depending on the direction of movement of the flexible strap, the sleeve causes a left or right handed movement of the screw that raises or lowers the upper element of the toilet.

The upper element of the toilet houses a suitable basin with a free profiled shape. At the rear of the bowl there is an opening through which the clean water flows and flushes the toilet. There is an opening in the lower part of the basin through which the contaminated water is discharged from the basin. The opening is connected to an odor-resistant air trap. The air trap is connected on the other side by a horizontal pipe to an external flexible organ-shaped pipe which leads the sewage out of the rear part of the toilet. The air trap may also be connected to a vertical pipe which terminates in a flexible, bellows-shaped conduit which directs the waste water directly into a vertical waste pipe located in the floor below the toilet. At least two sleeves are mounted in the upper element in the same way as the screws in the lower element of the toilet. The inner wall of the sleeve is threaded so that it can be inserted with the screw from the lower element of the toilet.

The upper element of the toilet is moved by a system that controls the starting and stopping of the electric motor and the transmission. Once activated, the motor moves a drive belt in a bi-directional helical rotary motion, lowering or lifting the upper element of the toilet. The drive mechanism of the toilet may be controlled by a cable connection or a wireless connection using a so-called remote control system.

The toilet bowl forming the subject of the invention has the advantage of being structurally stable, guaranteeing the safe use of any user. Furthermore, the toilet that forms the subject of the invention ensures safe and easy use by physically disabled persons. The height of the seat can be set at will relative to the floor, meaning that the toilet can be used by very tall or very short persons. The flexible accordion pipe facilitates unrestricted movement of the toilet and is chosen to be of a length that does not hang too loosely and therefore does not affect the flow of water. The use of a piano-like conduit on the clean water entering the toilet bowl and the used water exiting the toilet bowl also helps to improve the aesthetics of the toilet room.

Drawings

The invention is shown in the form of a construction drawing, in which fig. 1 is an isometric view of a toilet, fig. 2 shows the lower (or bottom) and upper elements of the toilet before installation, fig. 3 is a top view of the bottom element, and fig. 4 is a bottom view of the upper element.

Detailed Description

The lower element 1 of the toilet bowl forming the subject of the invention has an opening 3 for fixing it to the floor with screws. At the lower rear part of the lower element 1, along the entire width of the rear wall of the toilet, there is mounted a set flat bar 4, on which there are two screws 5 mounted pivotably, to the bottom of which a gear 6 is permanently fixed. At the lower front part of the element 1, along the entire width of the toilet front wall, a set flat bar 7 is mounted. On said flat bar there is a pivotally mounted screw 5, to the bottom of which a gear wheel 6 is permanently fixed. All the gears 6 are mounted on one level. The flat bars 4 and 7 form a support structure for the flat bars 8, to which an electric motor 9 with a transmission is connected, which transmits the rotary motion of the electric motor to a gear wheel 10. The gear 10 is arranged on the same level as the gear 6. The upper element 2 of the toilet constituting the subject of the invention has a shaped basin 11 with a sewage discharge pipe 12 permanently fixed thereto. A sleeve 14 terminating in an opening 15 is mounted on the inner upper surface 13 of the upper element 2. The base element 1 is equipped with a housing 16. The upper element 2 is equipped with a housing 17.

Claims (2)

1. Adjustable toilet bowl capable of freely adjusting the height of the bowl with respect to the ground, comprising a bowl placed on the ground, fitted with a clean water inlet and used water outlet, and comprising a flexible used water conduit, side and rear supports adjusted individually, and a control system to control these supports, characterized in that it is composed of two elements connected to each other in a sliding manner at least by two vertical screws (5) and a sleeve with an internal thread (14), namely a bottom element (1) and an upper element (2), whereas the screws (5) are arranged in the bottom element (1), ending in a first gear (6) and are fixed by pivots to a first flat bar (4) and to a second flat bar (7), a third flat bar (8) with a motor (9) and a second gear (10) being permanently fixed to said first (4) and second (7) flat bars, the motor (9) and a flexible toothed belt or chain constitute the drive mechanism of the toilet bowl, while the first gear (6) and the second gear (10) are arranged on the same level, while the upper element (2) has an optionally shaped basin (11) permanently connected to a sewage discharge pipe (12), while a sleeve (14) ending in an opening (15) is mounted on the inner upper surface (13) of the upper element (2).

2. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the threaded rod (5) is in the form of an elongated sleeve into which a left-hand threaded rod is introduced at one end and a right-hand threaded rod is introduced at the other end, and that each sleeve has an internal thread and a permanently mounted gear.