Public convenience unit

Details Public convenience unit Public convenience unit

1998-09-25

1999-11-09

Phillips, Charles E.

Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons

Flush closet or urinal and wash receptacle

4420, A47K 400

Patent

active

059789867

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a public sanitary cell consisting essentially of a sanitary compartment accessible by means of an outer door in which a toilet having a waste drain is disposed.
Public toilets are usually provided in large cities in frequently visited locations and are either accommodated in a building provided therefor or are in the form of erected prefabricated sanitary cells. The sanitary cells are accessible through an outer door opened by insertion of a coin and have completely automatic cleaning devices. When a user leaves the sanitary cell, the outer door is closed and the cleaning process begins. After cleaning is completed, the outer door is automatically unlocked so that the sanitary cell is accessible once more following insertion of a coin. Sanitary cells of this kind have direct local connection to the sewage system at their drain side so that they can usually be operated as autonomous sanitary units and without maintenance.
Public sanitary devices and toilet installations should, in cities, occupy as little space as possible so that, in particular, sanitary cells are extremely compact in construction. On the other hand each user should have sufficient freedom of motion within the sanitary cell. Therefore, e.g. for wheelchair users, a sufficient amount of free motion surface must be provided in front of and next to the toilet or bowl. This clearly legitimate requirement is, however, in conflict with the desire for a very compact configuration of the sanitary cell. Furthermore, the components and devices of public sanitary cells must function in a reliable manner and, in particular, must not present any danger to the user. A technical solution must therefore be found having high safety requirements.
It is the underlying purpose of the invention to create a sanitary cell of the above mentioned kind which has a sufficient amount of space, in particular for wheelchair users, despite its compact construction.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This purpose is achieved in accordance with the invention in that the toilet bowl is pivotable, by means of a driving unit, about a substantially vertical axis and an actuating device is disposed on the outer side of the sanitary cell to operate and control the drive mechanism.
The pivotable toilet bowl permits a wheel chair user to individually change the position of the toilet bowl so that he can more easily move from the wheelchair onto the toilet bowl without requiring additional space. It has turned out that the required amount of space can be substantially reduced compared to a stationary toilet bowl to facilitate an extremely compact construction while maintaining equal freedom of motion.
The pivotability of the toilet bowl requires additional means for the safety of the user. Towards this end and in accordance with the invention, the toilet bowl is not adjusted manually rather by means of a drive device, e.g. a drive motor. The actuating device with which the drive device is activated to bring the toilet bowl into the desired pivot position is, in the sanitary cell in accordance with the invention, disposed on the outer side preferentially next to the outer door to reliably prevent a user of the sanitary cell from unintentionally pivoting the toilet bowl when seated thereon or when otherwise using the sanitary cell, in particular since the outer door is locked during use.
In order to configure the actuating device for pivoting of the toilet bowl in a manner which is as user friendly as possible, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides for a keyboard with which one of various predetermined positions for the toilet bowl can be selected.
An improper adjustment of the toilet bowl by a user locked within the sanitary compartment can be reliably prevented if the drive device for the toilet bowl can only be operated and controlled by the actuating device when the outer door is closed.
Moreover, in order to prevent other individuals located outside from pivoting the toilet bowl during use of the sanitary cell, the inventio

REFERENCES:
patent: 3837011 (1974-09-01), McTighe et al.
patent: 5647074 (1997-07-01), White

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