Toilet

Abstract

The invention relates to a toilet having a raised lip 18 and elongate gully 20, reducing the risk of splashing by male users and hence improving the hygiene of the toilet, A number of other features may also contribute to the hygiene of the toilet, including handles 40, and lips on the seat 20 and lid 30.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a toilet bowl and to a toilet incorporating the toilet bowl.

[0002] Conventional flush toilets are widely used and typically incorporate a bowl, a hinged seat and a lid,

[0003] Existing toilets are however not always suitable for all users. One problem is for disabled male users who may need to sit down to urinate and who may have difficulty in directing urine into the bowl without splashback. Splashed urine can cause significant hygiene problems if it is not cleared up immediately. The same may apply to non-disabled male users who urinate while sitting down to defecate.

[0004] A number of modifications have been proposed to such existing toilets, including in particular the toilet described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,365 to Chiang, This describes a toilet in which a conventional toilet bowl has a urine protector at the front end together with a shallow water portion and a seat and lid. The function of the urine protector is said to be that the urine of the user will not splash out of the bowl.

[0005] According to the invention there is provided a toilet, comprising:

[0006] a bowl having a front, rear and sides and a rim extending around an upper surface of the bowl, the rim defining a water channel therein for channelling water to flush the toilet;

[0007] a water inlet in the bowl at the rear of the bowl connected to the water channel for accepting water for flushing the toilet;

[0008] wherein the rim has a raised lip at the front of the bowl; and

[0009] the front of the bowl is extended forwards from the raised lip to define a gully extending on the inside of the bowl forwards from the front of the lip by at least 10 cm to reduce splashing.

[0010] When a user sits on the toilet the raised lip helps ensure that urine flows into the bowl rather than spraying on the floor or rim. The distance between the lip and the front of the front of the gully helps reduce splashback. If instead the distance was shorter, urine could hit the front of the toilet and rebound onto the user, the user's clothing or the floor, creating a hygiene problem, especially when used by males with semi-erect penises. This elongated gully portion thus improves the hygiene of the toilet.

[0011] Although 10 cm may be adequate in some cases, the precise distance between the lip and the front of the gully can be varied as required. In-preferred embodiments the distance may be 15 cm or more or even 20 cm or more,

[0012] Further, when a male user needs to direct his penis forward when seated to use the toilet the shape of the toilet according to the invention reduces the risk of splash-back onto the user's hand.

[0013] The toilet is also beneficial for female users since again the risk of splashing is reduced.

[0014] Preferably, the toilet bowl is elongated compared with a normal toilet bowl so that when a man sits on the toilet he can urinate forwards and defecate backwards without the risk of faeces sticking to the rim of the toilet. Thus, in preferred embodiments the toilet bowl may have an upper opening measured from the lip to the rear of the rim of at least 50 cm, preferably 60 cm and further preferably 70 cm.

[0015] This elongate shape reduces the risk of a user's hand coming into contact with the seat when holding the penis to direct the flow of urine when seated, since the user can sit far enough back from the lip and still have enough room behind him to defecate.

[0016] The same applies to female users who will also be able to leave a large clear space behind them. Thus, the toilet benefits both sexes.

[0017] There may further be a seat hinged to the rear of the toilet and extending when lowered along the rear and sides of the toilet but not being closed at the front. By having the seat open at the front, in a horseshoe configuration, problems of urine hitting the front of the seat are avoided, thereby still fiber increasing the hygiene of the system.

[0018] The rear of the seat may be at least 50cm behind the front of the seat to allow sufficient room at the rear of the seat for defecation,

[0019] In preferred embodiments the water channel is continuous around the complete rim.

[0020] Preferably, the toilet has a plurality of openings in the rim connecting the water channel and the interior of the bowl spaced around the rim for channeling flushing water into the bowl to flush the toilet. The use of a rim having a raised lip causes problems for the conventional flushing mechanism which requires water to flow around the interior of the rim which is continuously open to the bowl at its lower edge. It would be difficult to achieve flow of water around the lip in such a system. However, by providing a closed channel in the rim the water can be guided all the way around the rim, including around the lip, thereby achieving efficient flushing even in this system with a raised lip.

[0021] The seat may have a seat lip extending around the outer edge of the seat and a seat support section for supporting the seat on the bowl, the seat support section being arranged around the edge of the seat extending inwardly from the seat lip. Note that the term "seat" in the expression "seat lip" is intended as a label to distinguish the lip in the seat from other lips described in the specification without requiring any particular form of the lip.

[0022] A lid may be hinged to the seat or bowl. There may be a lid ip around the outer edge of the lid and a lid support extending inwardly of the lid lip for supporting the lid on the seat. Again the term "lid" in "lid lip" is intended as a label.

[0023] The toilet may further include handles integrally formed in the outside edge of the seat and/or the outside edge of the lid. The handles are preferably contoured into the seat and/or lid using smooth contours. The handles allow other users to raise and lower the toilet seat without their hands coming into contact with any potentially misdirected urine,

[0024] The rim may be substantially horizontal along the sides and rear of the bowl.

[0025] In some arrangements, the bowl is not as rounded as in a conventional toilet but has sides which are straighter, in embodiments substantially straight, to achieve the elongate shape preferred.

[0026] The toilet according to the invention may thus be considered to be hygienic and luxurious, and may accordingly be named "the hygiene luxury system".

[0027] A specific example of the invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a section through a toilet according to the invention along a front-rear axis,

[0029] FIG. 2 is a section through the toilet of FIG. 1 along a side-side axis;

[0030] FIG. 3 is a top view of the toilet of FIG. 1 with the lid up; and

[0031] FIG. 4 is a view from under the seat of the toilet of FIG. 1.

[0032] The drawings are schematic and not to scale. Like components are indicated by like reference numerals in the different Figures.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a toilet includes a shaped toilet bowl 2 having a front 4, and rear 6. A conventional sewer outlet connection 8 is provided at the rear. Four bolt holes 10 are provided in the base 12 of the toilet for fixing the toilet to the ground. Note that as will be appreciated by the skilled person different bolt fixing arrangements and sewer outlets 8 may be provided if required to fit with the plumbing or other arrangements at a site. Note however that there is an advantage in using a four bolt system for fixing the toilet, rather than a two bolt system. The toilet according to the invention is elongate, especially at the front, and the four bolt system reduces the risk that the toilet may tip over during installation and provides a strong and firm fixing of the toilet for long term reliability.

[0034] The toilet bowl has a rim 14 extending all around the upper surface of the bowl, the rim 14 having a water channel 16 within it extending around the complete rim 14. The rim 14 is raised at the front to form a lip 18 at the front of the rim and is substantially flat over the rear and sides of the rim. A spout or gully 20 is formed in the interior of the bowl under lip 18, the interior of the spout or gully 20 extending towards the front 4 of the bowl by a distance d from the front of the rim 14, the distance d being in the example 15 cm although this may vary depending on the exact shape of toilet required. In the example the spout or gully 20 has a rounded interior form. The length of the rim 14 is also longer than a conventional toilet.

[0035] The channel 16 is connected to a water inlet 38 at the rear of the rim 14 that may in turn be connected to a cistern or other water supply for flushing. The channel 16 is closed, not open to the bowl, and has a plurality of openings 36 allowing water to pass from the channel 16 into the bowl 2. The openings 36 are spaced around the whole rim. This arrangement allows flush water to reach the lip 18 of the rim. Note that the channels 36 may be oriented to direct water in the direction required, which may be used in particular to direct some water to clean the spout or gully 20 by providing openings in the lip of the rim directed towards the spout or gully 20.

[0036] A horseshoe-shaped seat 22 is formed over the rear and sides of the rim 14. The seat is hinged to the toilet bowl by hinges 26 attached to the bowl in a manner known to those skilled in the art, for example by bolts. The seat 22 can be raised or lowered and is shown in the lowered position. The seat 22 has a lip 24 extending downwardly from the outer side edges of the seat, as well as from the outer front edge. Seat support section 25 is provided inside the lip, for supporting the seat 20. Seat support section 25 may be made, for example, of resilient plastics, and may be fixed to the seat by butting the seat support section 25 against the lip 24 and fixing it, for example with adhesives, as a gasket can be. The support section 25 takes the place of the plurality of small supports used in conventional toilets.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, the seat support section 25 includes a plurality of ribs spaced around the horse-shoe shaped seat 22 extending inwardly from the lip 24 at outer edge of the seat 22.

[0038] A lid 30 is provided, hinged to the bowl by piano hinges 34 and can be raised or lowered, The lid 30 is shown in the lowered position The edges of the lid at the side and rear have a lip 32 that overlaps the seat 20 when the lid is down. A lid support 33 is attached in a lice manner to the seat support 25 to support the lid on the seat. The lid support 33 includes a plurality of ribs extending inwardly from the lip 32, the ribs being spaced around the outer periphery of the lid 30. That is to say, the lid support 33 has a like shape to the seat support 25.

[0039] Handles 40 integrally formed ill the seat 20 and lid 30 are provided to allow the seat and lid to be lifted. Handles 40 are shown dotted in FIG. 4 since the handles 40 are not visible from the underside of the seat.

[0040] It will be appreciated that the embodiment described is only a single example of the invention and variation to meet local needs and requirements are possible. For example, the positioning of the inlet and outlet may be varied, as well as the shape of the bowl and size, orientation and form of the bowl. In some markets, for example, a horizontal shelf in the bowl is expected.

[0041] The bowl may be manufactured in any convenient way, in ceramics, plastics, or indeed any other material, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of manufacturing toilets.

Claims

1. A toilet, comprising: a bowl having a front, rear and sides and a rim extending around an upper surface of the bowl, the rim defining a water channel therein for channelling water to flush the toilet; a water inlet in the bowl at the rear of the bowl connected to the water channel for accepting water for flushing the toilet; wherein the rim has a raised lip at the front of the bowl; and the front of the bowl is extended forwards under the raised lip to define a gully extending on the inside of the bowl forwards from the front of the rim by at least 10 cm for reducing splashing.

2. A toilet according to claim 1 comprising a plurality of openings in the rim connecting the water channel and the interior of the bowl spaced around the rim for channeling flushing water into the bowl to flush the toilet.

3. A toilet according to claim 1 ether comprising a seat hinged to the rear of the toilet and extending when lowered along the rear and sides of the toilet but not being closed at the front,

4. A toilet according to claim 3 wherein the rear of the seat is at least 50cm behind the front of the seat.

5. A toilet according to claim 3 wherein the seat has seat lip extending around the outer edge of the seat and a seat support section for supporting the seat on the bowl, the seat support section being arranged around the edge of the seat extending inwardly from the seat lip.

6. A toilet according to claim 3 further comprising a lid hinged to the seat or bowl,

7. A toilet according to claim 6 further comprising a lid lip around the outer edge of the lid and a lid support extending inwardly of the lid lip for supporting the lid on the seat.

8. A toilet according to claim 6 further comprising handles integrally formed in the outside edge of the seat and the outside edge of the lid.

9. A toilet according to claim 1 wherein the rim is substantially horizontal along the sides and rear of the bowl.

10. A toilet according to claim 1 wherein the distance from the lip to the rear of the rim is at least 50 cm.

11. A toilet according to claim 1 further comprising at least four bolt holes around the base of the toilet for fixing the toilet to the ground.