Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Flush closet – Bowl
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-21
2001-02-27
Douglas, Steven O. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Flush closet
Bowl
C004S447000, C004S448000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192527
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal hygiene fixture adapted to be retrofitted onto a toilet bowl and, more particularly, relates to a personal hygiene fixture for producing a controllable water jet of variable temperature, pressure and flow, pivotal through a vertical arc.
(ii) Description of the Related Art
The basic personal hygiene system in most households in the World includes a bathroom having a conventional toilet system comprised of a toilet bowl, a toilet seat and a cover lid combination, a tank for flushing the toilet bowl, a cold water supply to the tank and a toilet-paper roll holder. In some such bathrooms, personal preferences of people preclude the use of toilet paper and favour water washes in the form of a separate bidet. The separate bidet is well-known and is commonly used in some parts of Europe but is sparingly used in North America. It generally includes a separate toilet type bowl without an attached lid or a toilet water tank. It normally is located close to the toilet bowl with a stationary water jet discharge nozzle attached at the inside bottom of the bowl to spray pressurized water on to the user, when the user sits on the bidet bowl. The drawbacks of this solution are that, firstly, the user has to get up from the toilet seat and move to the bidet bowl for water spray cleaning and, secondly, the bathroom size and its cost increase as a consequence of the presence and the size of the bidet bowl which is, normally, as large as the toilet bowl itself. Moreover, thirdly, since the nozzle is seated inside the bottom of the bidet bowl, the fixture is not completely hygienic, although still preferred by some over the use of toilet paper.
The alternative to the separate bidet bowl is the use of a portable bidet type fixture which is attachable to the existing toilet bowl or to the toilet seat. The portable fixture has advantages, in that, it is cost effective as the bathroom size need not change and, also, the user does not have to get up from the toilet seat for water spray cleaning.
A host of designs has been proposed for this class of fixtures. Some of these fixtures have been produced commercially in a limited fashion, but none has gained popularity. The following patents describe some of the relevant features of proposed various designs of bidet-type fixtures attachable to toilet bowls or adapted to be mounted in proximity to toilet bowls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,585 proposes a unit attached to a wall near the toilet bowl that has a long hose with a nozzle to clean the user. The fixtures proposed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,279,001, 5,263,205 and 3,879,769 have water jet discharge nozzles fixed to the toilet seat but the nozzle is exposed to spent water during use, and hence is not hygienically sanitary. Moreover, these designs lack the flexibility of close control of the water jet.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,799,341,5.,722,097, 5,704,077, 5,659,901, 5,652,971,5,647,069, 5,630,234, 5,566,402, 5,504,948, 5,287,566, 4,807,311 and 4,197,594 in common disclose nozzles exposed to spent water during use since the nozzle is located inside the toilet bowl. These designs accordingly are not hygienically acceptable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a personal hygiene fixture that is practical and usable by the public at large.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a fixture that can be installed on and incorporated with existing toilet systems and which is user friendly, economical and hygienic.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a simple, rugged, reliable and cost effective fixture which is easy to maintain to and service.
In its broad concept, the water jet personal hygiene fixture of the invention for installation on a toilet bowl having a pair of attachment bolts comprises a base plate having a pair of holes for receiving said attachment bolts and removably attaching the base plate to the toilet bowl, a water jet nozzle pivotally mounted on the base plate for delivering a flow of water under pressure at an angle through a vertical arc, control means operatively connected to the water jet nozzle for pivoting said water jet nozzle to a desired position within the vertical arc, a variable flow valve in series with the water jet nozzle for controlling flow of water under pressure to the water jet nozzle mounted on the base plate, control means operatively connected to the flow valve for actuating and adjusting the flow valve, conduit means for connecting said flow valve to separate sources of hot and cold water supplies, a mixing valve in series with said conduit means having valve means for adjusting the hot and cold water supplies to achieve a desired water temperature to said flow valve, and a toilet seat pivotally mounted on the base having a cut-out at the water jet nozzle to permit unobstructed flow of water from the water jet nozzle through the vertical arc of travel of said water jet nozzle.
The control means operatively connected to the water jet nozzle is an elongated vertically pivotal lever pivotally mounted at an end of the base plate, said lever having a distal end in proximity to one side of the toilet bowl. The control means operatively connected to the flow valve, is an elongated lever pivotally mounted on the flow valve at the opposite end of the base plate, said lever having a distal end in proximity to the opposite side of the toilet bowl. A temperature read-out operatively connected to a temperature probe may be located for convenience in the elongated control lever or on the base plate.
The mixing valve preferably is a Y-valve or two valves in ‘T’ formation having a cold water conduit and a hot water conduit connected thereto, said Y-valve having hot and cold water valve means for adjusting the relative flow of hot and cold water.
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Douglas Steven O.
Fors. Arne I.
Huynh Khoa D.
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