WO2000036235A1

WO2000036235A1 - Non contacting toilet flush device

Info

Publication number: WO2000036235A1
Application number: PCT/NO1999/000388
Authority: WO
Inventors: Viggo Wahl Pedersen
Original assignee: Ido Bathroom Ltd
Priority date: 1998-12-17
Filing date: 1999-12-17
Publication date: 2000-06-22
Also published as: SE523319C2; FI114873B; AU1700100A; SE0102127L; NO985945L; NO985945D0; FI20011282A; NO314638B1; SE0102127D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to a contact-free toilet flushing device for fitting in existing toilets or for installation/fitting in new toilets and similar sanitary material. The device may be employed alone which only offers the possibility of contact-free operation, but may also be combined with a commonly known manual operation in order to avoid possible functional failure. Furthermore, the device offers the possibility of combining the toilet flushing function with other sanitary functions, such as, for example, injection of sanitary fluids etc. in order, e.g., to avoid unpleasant odours. The contact-free toilet flushing device consists of one or more detection bodies (16) arranged to register activating actions for the toilet flusher without contact. The detection body is operatively connected to one or more housings (15a, 15b) which together contain at least an operating device (1), a stored operating means (8) for the operating device, transmission from the stored operating means (8) to the operating device (1) together with a transmission body (2) between the operating device (1) and the toilet flusher's activiting mechanism.

Description

Non contacting toilet flush device

The present invention relates to a contact-free toilet flushing device for fitting in existing toilets or installation/fitting in new toilets or similar sanitary material. The device may be used alone, thus only providing the possibility of contact-free operation, but may also be combined with commonly known manual operation in order to avoid possible functional failure. Furthermore, the device may be combined with a container for sanitary fluid which can be injected in order, e.g. to avoid unpleasant odours. For this injecting operation there is further specified a valve which in an embodiment can be used to inject in a dosed amount of sanitary fluid when the toilet is flushed.

The demand for contact-free sanitary material has developed enormously since the middle of the 1980's, impelled partly by legislation and requirements placed on sanitary material, particularly in public places, and partly by the requirement and the desire to reduce the number of contact points for a person in a public place, for example a public toilet or the like.

One of the places where the vast majority of users are in contact with sanitary material is the operating device for toilet flushing. This may be designed in various ways, such as a push button, a mechanism which has to be pulled up, a handle which has to be turned, a handle which has to be pulled down or to the side or the like. The operation of the toilet flusher thereby becomes a contact point for the vast majority of users and is therefore a significant source for the transfer of bacteria etc. Recent legislation and regulations on health, environment and safety, however, require the number of contact points where there is a risk of contagion to be restricted to a minimum, such as toilet seats and toilet flushing operation. Many different solutions may be envisaged for reducing the contact between a user and the toilet flushing operation, but the best solution by far is the complete absence of contact.

Of the previously known solutions relating to the problem area, it will be natural to look at the use of an electronic detector, photo cell or the like in connection with other types of sanitary installation. Such detectors may, for example, initiate flushing of urinals or the like when individuals approach or move away from sanitary equipment. Technical solutions for contact-free flushing of toilets are described in patent publications EP 0.453.702, GB 2.260.998, US 4.941.215, US 5.062.453, US 5.313.674, US 5.432.959. In the said EP 0.453.702 in particular a device is disclosed which is integrated in the toilet cistern. The device comprises a contact-free sensor and an operating mechanism which operates the toilet's flushing function.

In comparison with the previously known solutions the elements necessary for implementing a contact-free flushing function are essentially integrated in the device according to the present invention. The constructional implementation will thereby differ greatly in the present invention from the solutions which are previously known with regard to the adaptation of the device to the toilet's cistern and to existing flushing mechanisms, thus facilitating the use of the device according to the present invention in connection with existing toilets. In addition, the contact-free operation in the present invention can replace a standard manually operated function, or it may be provided in addition to the manually operated function. A user can therefore behave in the same way with the contact-free sanitary material as with the standard known manual operation.

With regard to the container for sanitary fluid and devices for introducing the fluid into a toilet cistern, the previously known practice is to place a container outside the toilet, e.g. on a wall near the toilet. The container is connected to the cistern via a connecting line such as a hose or the like and in connection therewith there is provided a valve device which permits sanitary fluid to drip from the container into the cistern.

The previously known solution for introducing sanitary fluid, however, is often subject to vandalism, in addition to which existing systems for introducing sanitary fluid lead to a high consumption of this fluid without satisfactorily achieving the desired effect. At the same time it has been found that excess consumption of sanitary fluid may have a damaging effect on the sanitary material, particularly in connection with seals, gaskets and the like.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems, as well as satisfying the above-mentioned requirements for a reduction in the danger of infection and absence of contact, particularly in public areas, in the present invention a contact-free toilet flusher has been developed whose design ensures that the user does not need to touch the operating body for the toilet flushing function after a visit to the toilet. Furthermore, the device in the present invention is designed in such a manner that it can both be fitted in new toilet installations as well as being retrofitted in existing toilet installations. The device as such may be designed in a relatively homogeneous manner and by altering the fixing elements for the device, the device may be fitted in connection with a plurality of differently shaped lids for toilet cisterns. The device can therefore easily be fitted in different toilets of different makes and of different sizes.

An embodiment of the device according to the present invention may further comprise a container for sanitary fluid, which container is provided with a valve which in the preferred embodiment doses this sanitary fluid during and/or after initiating a flushing process in the toilet. This prevents sanitary fluid from being added during periods when the toilet receives few visits, thereby substantially reducing the consumption of such fluid compared with the ordinary drip system. Moreover, the injection of sanitary fluid can be more easily adapted to the flushing process, with the result that the fluid substantially remains lying in the toilet bowl after flushing, instead of the sanitary fluid disappearing with the water which is flushed down the toilet, as is the case in known systems. By integrating the sanitary fluid container internally in the cistern, moreover, it is protected from vandalism. However, integration entails the necessity of providing the possibility of replenishing the container, preferably without the need to remove the lid on the cistern. A standard filler opening can easily be provided. Similarly, a generally known indicator can be provided for showing when there is a need to fill up with sanitary fluid.

The contact-free toilet flushing device according to the introduction to claim 1 is designed with special technical constructional features according to the characterising part of claim 1 in the present application, and may also be found in additional embodiments according to the following dependent claims.

The application object consists substantially of a detection body or registration body which is operatively connected with one or more housings, or box-like objects which together contain at least an operating device, which is activated by the detection body and which operates the toilet flusher's activating mechanism via a transmission body. The operating device may be driven by a stored operating means which may, e.g., be a battery, a hydrostatic accumulator or the like. The operating device and the stored operating means, possibly together with control means and the transition between the detection body and the operating device, are placed in the housing or beside the box-like body, thus enabling the device to be mounted in a toilet cistern. This provides the opportunity for retrofitting in existing cisterns, while the device may be specially adapted to new cisterns and factory-mounted therein. The detection body is usually located in the toilet's upper region or at the lid, or it may be placed in a suitable location near the toilet. It will, however, be natural for a user to look for the detection body in the same place at which the normally manual operation is provided. In addition a detection body may be used which can be adjusted according to its sensitivity, thus providing maximum assurance against unwanted or inadvertent activation of the toilet flushing mechanism.

In the preferred embodiment a valve for dosing sanitary fluid may further be connected with a separate float mechanism which doses the correct amount of sanitary fluid at the right time. Alternatively, the dosing valve may be connected to the flushing device, with the result that the contact-free activation of flushing also activates the dosing of sanitary fluid.

The invention will now be explained in further detail in connection with the attached figures, in which: figure 1 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of the present invention;

figure 2 is a sectional view from above of an embodiment according to figure 1 of the present invention; figure 3 is a sectional side view of a section of a sanitary fluid container in connection with the device according to the present invention, with an embodiment of a dosing valve.

In figure 1 two housings 15a, 15b are illustrated, where the necessary constructional elements according to the present invention are divided between the two housings. In the housing 15a there is located a servomotor 1 with a transmission body 2, one end of which is rotatably connected with the servomotor mechanism and the other end of which is provided with a link 4 which counterbalances angular differences between the transmission body 2 and the element 3 which is brought into contact with the toilet's activating mechanism when the toilet flusher is activated. Furthermore, the device's second housing 15b contains a stored operating means which in this embodiment is a battery 8 together with an electronic control means 9 which in turn is connected to the detection body 16 via the line connection 17. The detection body 16 may be located in the toilet's lid, or in another suitable place near the toilet. At the upper part of the housings 15a and 15b the device is further provided with fixing elements 10 which in the present embodiment along three of the sides of the housings 15a and 15b respectively are an edge folded outwards in the direction from the interior of the housings 15a, 15b. This edge 10 may be employed to hang the device on the inside of a toilet cistern under the lid, or the device may be suspended on a suitable recess inside the cistern. The device should, however, be located near the toilet flushing mechanism and preferably with the operating device 1 in the vicinity thereof, so that the transmission body 2 between the operating device and the activating mechanism for the toilet flusher is not unnecessarily long or complicated in form.

In the present embodiment it is further illustrated that the housings 15a and 15b are filled in their lower parts 7a, 7b with a special sanitary fluid which can be injected through the outlet/injector 14 by means of the toilet flushing mechanism. In the embodiment there is also illustrated a passage 12 between the housings 15a and 15b at the lower region which connects 7a and 7b.

Furthermore, between the housings 15a and 15b there is provided a bracket or holder 5 which also has a mounting hole 6 for attaching the devices to the toilet. In addition, the bracket 5 is provided with a holder 1 1 which is used to suspend the activating mechanism which has previously been in use in connection with toilet flushers if the device is retrofitted on a toilet which has previously been operated manually.

The operating device 1 which is located in the housing 15a may. of course, be composed of an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor or any other type of operating body which can have a stored source with operating means such as, e.g., a hydraulic or pneumatic accumulator, a battery or the like. In the present embodiment the operating body 1 and the stored operating means 8, as well as the control means 9 are located in two different housings 15a and 15b, while the device may well consist of one or more housings, and the various functional elements such as the operating device 1 , the stored operating means or the control means may be separated if the device consists of more than one housing. Moreover, the injection of sanitary fluid or the like which in the present embodiment is contained in the chambers 7a and 7b is an alternative to the present invention. The fixing means for the device, moreover, may be varied and adapted to different toilet types and it may also be envisaged that the functional elements in the device according to the present invention may be distributed in several chambers and that these chambers are not necessarily connected but are located on the inside of the toilet cistern near the activating mechanism for the toilet flusher, other chambers/housings or the like being located on the outside of the toilet. Amongst other things, this permits the detection body, together with the electronic control means 9 to be installed in a suitable housing in a suitable location, while the operating body 1 and the stored operating means 8 may be installed near the activating mechanism for toilet flushers. In this case the two chambers/housings will be connected by a line connection 17 which substantially connects the detection body 16 with the control means 9 and also the operating device 1.

In most cases the contact-free toilet flusher is operated by passing the hand or another object over the detection body for a certain length of time, whereupon the toilet flushing mechanism is activated. In those cases where the contact-free toilet flusher is out of operation for some reason, the toilet flusher can be operated manually if the manual function operation is incorporated in addition to the contact-free. In figure 3 there is further illustrated an embodiment of a dosing valve 20 for sanitary fluid, which valve is mounted in connection with the sanitary fluid chambers 7a and 7b (fig. 1 and fig. 2). The valve 20 consists substantially of a housing 21 with an internal chamber 24 and a lid 22 disposed over the chamber. The housing is located in a hole in the fluid container 7a, 7b with an intermediate gasket 34 which prevents leakage from the fluid container to the cistern. On the outside of the fluid container 7a, 7b an outlet pipe 28 is connected to the housing 21 with openings into the chamber 24. The outlet openings, however, are closed by a gasket 23 on a piston 24 internally in the chamber 24. The piston 25 is moved when the water level in the cistern drops (when the toilet is flushed), by the float 33 dropping and pulling along the piston rod 27 via the float rod 32. The float rod 32 is further rotatably connected to a holding device 29 at the point of rotation 3 1. Thus the time for the valve to dose with sanitary fluid can be controlled by moving the float 33 along the float rod 32. In the preferred embodiment sanitary fluid is dosed at the end of the flushing process, and at the beginning of the filling of the cistern. The chamber 24 communicates with the sanitary fluid container 7a, 7b via openings 26 which may be provided with non-return valves (not illustrated).

The amount of dosed sanitary fluid can further be regulated by the screw device 35 which restricts the piston's 25 stroke length inside the chamber 24. The screw device 35 is inserted in the lid 22 and in an alternative embodiment it may be omitted, whereupon the lid 22 may also be given a simpler form and connection with the housing 21.

In the above, the present invention is illustrated by embodiments and this should not be considered limiting with regard to choice of type of detection body, type of operating device or other elements. The device may therefore be assembled in a number of different ways with a number of different types of functional bodies according to what is set forth in the following set of claims.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. A contact-free toilet flushing device, characterized by one or more detection bodies ( 16) arranged to register activating actions for the toilet flusher without contact, which detection body (16) is operatively connected with one or more housings ( 15a, 15b) together containing at least an operating device ( 1 ), stored operating means (8) for the operating device (1 ), transmission from the stored operating means (8) to the operating device ( 1) together with a transmission body (2) between the operating device (1) and the toilet flusher's activating mechanism.

2. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the detection body ( 16) is a movement sensor, heat sensor or the like which registers the presence of an activating action for the toilet flusher.

3. A device according to claims 1 -2, characterized in that the operating device (1) is an electrically driven servomotor or the like.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized in that the stored operating means (8) is a battery.

5. A device according to claims 1-4, characterized in that between the detection body ( 16) and the operating device (1 ) there is provided a control circuit (9).

6. A device according to claims 1-5, characterized in that in connection with the device there are provided one or more chambers (7a, 7b) for an additive fluid such as sanitary fluid.

7. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that the control circuit (9) for the operating device ( 1) is connected with an injector ( 14) or valve (20) which injects a fluid from one or more of the chambers (7a, 7b) in connection with activation of the toilet flusher.

8. A device according to claim 6, characterized in that in connection with one or more of the containers (7a, 7b) there is provided a dosing valve (20) which is activated by a float device (33).

9. A device according to claim 8, characterized in that the dosing valve (20) comprises a housing with an internal movably provided piston (25) which is connected with the float device (33).