U.S. patent application number 17/599105 was filed with the patent office on 2022-05-26 for toilet bowl and method for manufacturing such a bowl.
This patent application is currently assigned to Grohe AG. The applicant listed for this patent is Grohe AG. Invention is credited to Horst BACHMANN, Torsten MEIER.
Application Number | 20220162844 17/599105 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | |
Filed Date | 2022-05-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220162844 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MEIER; Torsten ; et
al. |
May 26, 2022 |
TOILET BOWL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH A BOWL
Abstract
The invention relates to a bowl (1) for a toilet, at least
comprising an outer shell (2) and a water-guiding inner part (3),
wherein water is supplied regularly to the inner part (3) when the
bowl is used as intended, wherein the outer shell (2) comprises
exclusively the non-water-guiding part of the bowl (1) and wherein
the outer shell (2) consists of a cast mineral material and the
inner part (3) consists of a different material. Also disclosed is
a method for producing a bowl.
Inventors: |
MEIER; Torsten; (Neuss,
DE) ; BACHMANN; Horst; (Bochum, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Grohe AG |
Hemer |
|
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Grohe AG
Hemer
DE
|
Appl. No.: |
17/599105 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2020 |
PCT Filed: |
March 20, 2020 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2020/057742 |
371 Date: |
September 28, 2021 |
International
Class: |
E03D 11/06 20060101
E03D011/06; E03D 11/13 20060101 E03D011/13 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 28, 2019 |
DE |
10 2019 002 225.4 |
Claims
1. A bowl (1) for a toilet, at least comprising an outer skin (2)
and a water-bearing inner part (3), wherein the inner part (3) is
regularly exposed to water during its intended use, wherein the
outer skin (2) comprises only the non-water-bearing part of the
bowl (1), wherein the outer skin (2) consists of a mineral casting
material and the inner part (5) consists of different material.
2. The bowl (1) according to claim 1, wherein the inner part (3)
consists of a ceramic material.
3. The bowl (1) according to claim 1, wherein the outer skin (2)
and the inner part (3) are interconnected through an adhesive bond
(4).
4. The bowl (1) according to claim 1, wherein the outer skin (2)
and the inner part (5) are interconnected at least by a screw
connection, a clamping connection or a clip connection.
5. A method for manufacturing a bowl (1) for a toilet, wherein the
bowl (1) has at least an outer skin (2) and a water-bearing inner
part (3), wherein the inner part (3) is regularly exposed to water
during its intended use, wherein the outer skin (2) comprises
exclusively the non-water-bearing part of the bowl (1), wherein the
method comprises at least the steps outlined below: a) provision of
the outer skin (2), wherein the outer skin (2) is made of a mineral
casting material; b) provision of the inner part (3), wherein the
inner part is made of a different material than the outer skin (2);
c) connection of the outer skin (2) and the inner part (3) to form
a bowl.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the inner part (3)
consists of a ceramic material.
7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the joining comprises
adhesive bonding.
8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the joining comprises
screwing, clamping or clipping.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a bowl, in particular for a toilet
(including also a urinal or the like) and a method for
manufacturing such a bowl.
[0002] In the recent past, there has been a great increase of
washbasins, bathtubs and shower trays made using mineral casting.
Today, bowls for toilets, urinals and the like cannot be made from
this material because it is not sufficiently resistant to chemicals
and/or resistant to abrasion.
[0003] It is the object of this invention to at least partially
solve the issues indicated with reference to the prior art.
Proposed in particular is a bowl for a toilet, for which,
nevertheless, a mineral casting is used. Further proposed is a
method for manufacturing a bowl comprising the mineral casting
material.
[0004] A bowl with the features according to claim 1 and a method
using the features according to claim 5 contribute to said object.
Advantageous further developments are the subject matter of the
dependent claims. The features listed individually in the claims
can be combined with one another in a technologically useful manner
and can be supplemented by explanatory facts from the description
and/or details from the figures, wherein further embodiment
variants of the invention are identified.
[0005] A bowl is proposed, in particular for toilets, urinals,
etc., comprising at least an outer skin and a water-bearing inner
part, wherein the inner part is regularly exposed to water during
intended use. The outer skin comprises only the non-water-bearing
part of the bowl, wherein the outer skin consists of a mineral
casting material and the inner part consists of a different
material (not a mineral casting material).
[0006] In particular, a hybrid bowl is proposed, made of different
materials, each material being provided for different areas of the
bowl, based on its properties.
[0007] A (toilet) bowl is regularly supplied with water via a water
inlet (connected, for instance, to a cistern or pressure pipe).
Further, a drain is provided, through which, among other things,
the water from the bowl can be transferred to a sewer. The water
inlet and outlet are by default interconnected via the
water-bearing inner part of the bowl.
[0008] In this respect, the term "bowl" refers in particular to the
so-called "ceramic" of a toilet, a urinal, etc.
[0009] In particular, (only) the outer skin (generally) consists of
the mineral casting material.
[0010] Mineral casting is in particular a material that consists of
mineral fillers, e.g. quartz gravel, quartz sand and/or powdered
rock, and a small amount of epoxy binder material.
[0011] The materials are mixed together and, depending on the
production process, cast as a homogeneous mass, e.g. cold (ambient
temperature, i.e. not heated) in molds, e.g. made of wood, steel or
plastic. During the casting process, the casting mold can be moved,
e.g. shaken, to compact the mixture and remove air bubbles from it.
After a few hours, the part can be demolded and is ready for
assembly. The material is also known as polymer concrete or
reactive resin concrete.
[0012] In particular, a mineral casting material has some
advantages over ceramic, which is normally used for toilet bowls.
In particular, the use of mineral casting permits not only smaller
radii but smaller tolerances can also be realized, and the
integration of electrical or mechanical components and connection
points can be implemented. Furthermore, by manufacturing the outer
skin from this material, a uniform or harmonious design of
different sanitary equipment, such as washbasins, shower trays,
bathtubs, etc., can be achieved.
[0013] In ceramics, for instance, it is not possible to integrate
components (prior to firing the ceramic) (e.g. due to the high
temperatures during firing). Further, this avoids the high degree
of shrinkage of the ceramic, which is due to its manufacturing
process.
[0014] In particular, the inner part is made of a ceramic
material.
[0015] For the proposed bowl, the high degree of hardness and the
hygienic properties of a ceramic material are utilized, especially
for the inner part, while for the outer part the advantages of the
mineral casting material, i.e. the low shrinkage, guaranteed tight
tolerances, a flat surface, the possibility of small radii, are
utilized.
[0016] In particular, the outer skin and the inner part are
interconnected at least (or exclusively) through an adhesive
bond.
[0017] The outer skin and the inner part can (alternatively) be
interconnected at least by a screw connection, a clamping
connection or a clip connection.
[0018] In particular, the connection is arranged in a (usually)
non-visible area of the bowl, e.g., at the upper edge of an
interior of the bowl. In particular, the connection is located in
an area of the bowl that is not exposed to liquid (when used as
intended).
[0019] Preferably, the connection is designed to be liquid-tight.
However, it is also possible that the connection is not designed to
be liquid-tight but, for instance, is only designed to be
liquid-tight against splash water.
[0020] A method for manufacturing a bowl, in particular the bowl
previously described, is proposed. The bowl has at least an outer
skin and a water-bearing inner part, the inner part being regularly
exposed to water during intended use, the outer skin comprising
exclusively the non-water-bearing part of the bowl. The method
comprises at least the process steps outlined below: [0021] a)
provision of the outer skin, wherein the outer skin is made of a
mineral casting material; [0022] b) provision of the inner part,
wherein the inner part is made of a different material than the
outer skin; [0023] c) connection of the outer skin and the inner
part to form a bowl.
[0024] In particular, the inner part is made of a ceramic material.
In particular, the connection process comprises adhesive
bonding.
[0025] In particular, the connection process comprises bolting,
clamping, or clipping.
[0026] The explanation regarding the process can, in particular, be
transferred to the bowl and vice versa.
[0027] Preferred is a use of the bowl proposed herein for holding
human body waste, in particular urine.
[0028] If a dependency and/or sequence is required, this is
explicitly stated here or it is obvious to the person skilled in
the art when studying the specific embodiment described. Insofar as
a component may occur more than once ("at least one"), the
description for one of these components may apply equally to all or
a part of the majority of these components, but this is not
mandatory.
[0029] The invention and the technical environment are explained in
more detail below with reference to the figures attached. It should
be noted that the invention is not intended to be restricted by the
cited exemplary embodiments. In particular, unless explicitly
stated otherwise, it is also possible to extract partial aspects of
the facts explained in the Figures and combine them with other
components and findings from this description. In particular, it
should be noted that the Figures and in particular the proportions
shown are only schematic. In the Figures:
[0030] FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a bowl in cross-section;
and
[0031] FIG. 2 shows a method for manufacturing a bowl.
[0032] FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a bowl 1 in cross-section.
FIG. 2 shows a method for manufacturing a bowl 1. FIGS. 1 and 2 are
described together below.
[0033] The bowl 1 has an outer skin 2 and a water-bearing inner
part 3, the inner part 3 being regularly exposed to water during
its intended use. The outer skin 2 comprises only the
non-water-bearing part of the bowl 1, wherein the outer skin 2 is
made of a mineral casting material and the inner part 3 is made of
another material (not a mineral casting material).
[0034] The bowl 1 is supplied with water via a water inlet 5
(connected, for instance, to a cistern or a pressure line)
[0035] Further, a drain 6 is provided, through which, among other
things, the water from the bowl 1 can be transferred to a sewer.
The water inlet 5 and the water outlet 6 are interconnected via the
water-bearing inner part 5 of the bowl 1.
[0036] The outer skin 2 and the inner part 5 are interconnected
exclusively via a (in this case: adhesive) bond 4.
[0037] The connection 4 is arranged in a (usually) non-visible area
of the bowl 1, in this case at the upper edge of an interior space
of the bowl 1.
[0038] According to step a), the method for manufacturing a bowl
comprises the provision of the outer skin 2, wherein the outer skin
2 is made of a mineral casting material. According to step b), the
inner part 3 is provided, wherein the inner part 3 is made of a
different material than the outer skin 2. According to step c), the
connection 4 is used to connect the outer skin 2 to the inner part
3 to form a bowl 1.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0039] 1 Bowl [0040] 2 outer skin [0041] 3 interior [0042] 4
connection [0043] 5 water inlet [0044] 6 drain
* * * * *