Toilet Seat

Abstract

A toilet seat includes a seat unit, a user-operating unit, and an acting device. The seat unit includes a housing and a seat member that has front and rear portions. The seat member is pivotally connected to the housing at the rear portion. The user-operating unit is mounted in the front portion of the seat member. The acting device is mounted to the seat unit and is driven by the user-operating unit to perform an action.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent application no. 100143960, filed on Nov. 30, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a toilet seat, more particularly to a toilet seat capable of sensing a motion of a user so as to spray water accordingly.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional toilet seat 1 disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Application Publication No. 201011143 includes a seat member 11, a sprayer device 12 mounted under a rear portion of the seat member 11, two heaters 13 disposed in the seat member 11 for warming up the seat member 11, and a control device 14 including a plurality of buttons 141 for driving the sprayer device 12 to spray water as well as for controlling amount and temperature of the water sprayed from the sprayer device 12.

[0006] The control device 14 is mounted at one of lateral sides of the seat member 11, and thus, the area occupied by the conventional toilet seat 1 is relatively large. To reduce the area occupied by the conventional toilet seat 1, the control device 14 is replaced by another control device 14' that is separate from the conventional toilet seat 1.

[0007] However, it is inconvenient to provide a receiving space for accommodating the control device 14'. Further, an external power supply for the control device 14' is also required, thus resulting in additional manufacturing cost for the conventional toilet seat 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat capable of alleviating the above drawbacks of the prior art.

[0009] According to the present invention, a toilet seat comprises a seat unit, a user-operating unit, and an acting device. The seat unit includes a housing and a seat member that has front and rear portions. The seat member is pivotally connected to the housing at the rear portion. The user-operating unit is mounted in the front portion of the seat member. The acting device mounted to the seat unit and driven by the user-operating unit to perform an action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional toilet seat disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Application Publication No. 201011143;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a toilet seat according to the present invention, where a sprayer device of the toilet seat is disposed at a retracted position;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the first preferred embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the first preferred embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment, where the sprayer device of the toilet seat is disposed at an operative position;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for controlling the toilet seat of the first preferred embodiment;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the toilet seat according to the present invention; and

[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a third preferred embodiment of the toilet seat according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification.

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a first preferred embodiment of a toilet seat according to the present invention is shown. The toilet seat includes a seat unit 2, an acting device, a user-operating unit, and a detecting device 5. Preferably, the toilet seat is a bidet toilet seat.

[0021] The seat unit 2 includes a housing 21, a cover 23 pivotally connected to the housing 21, and a seat member 22 having front and rear portions 221, 222. The seat member 22 is pivotally connected to the housing 21 at the rear portion 222.

[0022] In this embodiment, the acting device is a sprayer device 3 mounted under the rear portion 222 of the seat member 22 and adapted for spraying water. Further referring to FIG. 5, the sprayer device 3 includes a first nozzle 31 and a second nozzle 32 having a length greater than that of the first nozzle 31. Each of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is movable between a retracted position (FIG. 2), where each of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is retracted under the rear portion 222 of the seat member 22, and an operative position (FIG. 5), where one of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is exposed from the seat member 22.

[0023] The user-operating unit includes a sensor unit 4 and a control device 6. The sensor unit 4 is mounted in the housing 21 at one of lateral sides of the housing 21, and is adapted for sensing a motion of a user seated on the seat member 22 and for generating motion signals according to a frequency of the motion of the user. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 4 is a capacitive senor unit. It should be noted that the sensor unit 4 is adapted for sensing a tapping motion or a wave motion of a limb of the user.

[0024] The detecting device 5 is mounted in the housing 21 at the other one of the lateral sides of the housing 21, has a detection range 51 that does not interfere with a sensing range 41 of the sensor unit 4, and is operable to generate a detecting signal to be received by the control device 6 when the detecting device 5 detects the user seated on the seat member 22. It is noted that the detecting device 5 is an optoelectronic switch in this embodiment. In other embodiments, the detecting device 5 may be one of a capacitive sensor element, a thermal sensor, and other suitable sensor units.

[0025] The control device 6 is mounted in the housing 21 and is operable to enable the sensor unit 4 according to the detecting signal generated by the detecting device 5. The control device 6 includes a communication module 61, a control module 62, and a driving module 63. The communication module 61 is electrically connected to the sensor unit 4 for receiving the motion signal therefrom and is electrically connected to the detecting device 5 for receiving the detecting signal therefrom. The control module 62 is programmed with a plurality of program codes corresponding to the motion signals that are associated with the frequencies of the motion of the user, respectively. The driving module 63 is controlled by the control module 62 and drives the sprayer device 3 according to the program codes.

[0026] The control device 6 outputs a trigger signal to enable the sensor unit 4 to sense the motion of the user when the communication module 61 continuously receives the detecting signal generated for the detecting device 5 by a predetermined duration (t).

[0027] Referring to FIG. 6, a preferred embodiment of a method for controlling the toilet seat includes the following steps.

[0028] In step 70, the detecting device 5 is configured to detect whether a user enters the detection range 51 thereof, that is to say, the user sits on the seat member 22.

[0029] In step 71, the detecting device 5 is configured to output a detecting signal to be received by the control device 6 when the detecting device 5 detects that the user has entered the detection range 51, i.e., the detecting device 5 is shaded from light by the user. In a case where the detecting device 5 is a capacitive sensor element, the detecting device 5 is configured to output a detecting signal when the detecting device 5 detects a change in capacitance.

[0030] In step 72, the control device 6 is configured to determine whether the detecting signal generated by and received from the detecting device 5 continues for a predetermined duration (t). When the detecting signal does not continue for the predetermined duration (t), the flow goes back to step 70.

[0031] When it is determined in step 72 that the detecting signal has continued for the predetermined duration (t), the flow goes to step 73. In step 73, the control device 6 is configured to output a trigger signal to enable the sensor unit 4 to sense the motion of the user. At this time, since the detecting signal generated by the detecting device 5 has continued for the predetermined duration (t), it is determined that the user is seated on the seat member 22. By this way, the sensor unit 4 is capable of sensing motion of the user.

[0032] In step 74, the sensor unit 4 is configured to detect a frequency of the motion of the user, e.g. a frequency of tapping motion of a right thigh of the user, and to generate a motion signal to be received by the communication module 61 of the control device 6 according to the frequency of the motion of the user. The motion signal is associated with a change in capacitance in the sensing range 41.

[0033] In step 75, the control module 62 is configured to control the driving module 63 to drive the sprayer device 3 according to one of the program codes that corresponds to the frequency of the motion of the user detected in step 74.

[0034] For example, when it is detected by the sensor unit 4 that a frequency of the tapping motion of the user is 2 Hz (T=0.5 s, i.e., tapping once within 0.5 second), the first nozzle 31 is driven by the driving module 63 to move from the retracted position (FIG. 2) to the operative position (FIG. 5). Additionally, the second nozzle 32 is moved from the retracted position to the operative position when a frequency of the tapping motion of the user is 4 Hz (T=0.25 s, i.e., tapping twice within 0.5 second). Further, after one of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is moved to the operative position, when a frequency of the tapping motion of the user detected by the sensor unit 4 is 4 Hz (T=0.25 s), said one of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is driven to spray a small amount of water. Similarly, said one of the first and second nozzles 31, 32 is driven to spray a large amount of water as a frequency of the tapping motion is 6 Hz (T=1/6 s, i.e., tapping three times within 0.5 second).

[0035] Referring to FIG. 7, a second preferred embodiment of the toilet seat according to the present invention is shown. The main difference between the second preferred embodiment and the first preferred embodiment resides in that the sensor unit 4 is mounted in the rear portion 222 of the seat member 22, and is an optoelectronic switch for sensing a wave motion of a limb of the user.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 8, the third preferred embodiment of the toilet seat of the present invention is shown. The main difference between the third preferred embodiment and first preferred embodiment is described in the following. In the third preferred embodiment, the detecting device 5 is omitted and the sensor unit 4 is embedded in a middle part of the front portion 221 of the seat member 22 and under a top surface of the front portion 221 and includes a plurality of sensors 41. The sensor unit 4 is configured to generate a motion signal in response to detection of a touch by the user. In particular, the sensor unit 4 is for generating the motion signal according to a position of one of the sensors 41 which the user touches.

[0037] The front portion 221 of the seat member 22 is formed with a plurality of visible patterns 223 that are for selection by the user, that indicate different functions such as control of the first and second nozzles 31, 32, and that correspond in position to the sensors 41 of the sensor unit 4, respectively.

[0038] The control device 6 is for controlling the sprayer device 3 to spray water according to the motion signal that corresponds to the position of one of the visible patterns 223 and a corresponding one of the sensors 41.

[0039] By this way, since the middle part of the front portion 221 of the seat member 22 is not covered by the user seated on the seat member 22, the user can simply operate the sprayer device 3 by touching the visible patterns 223 on the seat member 22. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, each of the sensors 41 of the sensor unit 4 is a capacitive sensing element which is capable of detecting the touch action of the user.

[0040] To sum up, the toilet seat of the present invention provides a user interface that is integrated in the seat member 22 and that enables effective operation of the sprayer device 3 by one of a tapping motion, a wave motion, and a touch action of the user. Consequently, the area occupied by the toilet seat of the present invention is relatively small and an external power supply is not required for the control device 6.

[0041] While the invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A toilet seat comprising: a seat unit including a housing and a seat member that has front and rear portions, said seat member being pivotally connected to said housing at said rear portion; a user-operating unit mounted in said front portion of said seat member; and an acting device mounted to said seat unit and driven by said user-operating unit to perform an action.

2. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said user-operating unit includes a sensor unit adapted for generating a motion signal in response to detection of a user operation, and a control device mounted in said housing and electrically connected to said sensor unit for receiving the motion signal therefrom so as to control said driven device accordingly.

3. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said user-operating unit is adapted for generating the motion signal according to a position where the user touches said user-operating unit.

4. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said user-operating unit is embedded in said front portion of said seat member under a top surface of said front portion.

5. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said sensor unit includes a plurality of sensors, and said front portion of said seat member is formed with a plurality of visible patterns that are used for selection by the user and that respectively correspond in position to said sensors of said user-operating unit.

6. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said driven device is mounted under said rear portion of said seat unit and is a sprayer device controlled by said control device according to the motion signal to spray water.

7. The toilet seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said user-operating unit is embedded in a middle part of said front portion of said seat member.