FR2543594A1 - Device for supplying and cleaning toilet seats - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for automatically cleaning the seats 1, 9, 10 of toilets 8, in which the seats are successively conveyed to a cleaning position (seat 9), a drying position (seat 10) and a position of use (seat 1). The various cleaning and conveying stages are triggered and made to run in succession by a plurality of hydraulic members 59, 27, 31, 57 controlled by a distributor 54 actuated by a push-button 53.

Description

 The present invention relates to the field of sanitary equipment and relates to an automatic cleaning device for flaps for toilet bowls.

In recent years, we have been installing more and more often, in particular in public places, lavatories comprising a bowl forming a seat generally made of enamel and a flap fixed on the bowl intended to avoid contact direct from a. user seated on seat and email. In the case of a public installation subject to intensive use, the hygienic conditions required are not always met. In particular, the frequent presence of soiling on the flap prevents operation of these installations under truly hygienic conditions,
We have therefore imagined a number of devices making it possible to present to each new user a seat provided with a protective element that has been previously cleaned. For this, a device fixed on the bowl ensures the circulation of one or more protective elements between a cleaning station and the position of use. However, the devices known in the prior art have certain drawbacks. Thus, the cleaning device frequently requires the use of electrical energy and its construction is appreciably complicated by the safety requirements inherent in the use of this energy in the presence cleaning fluid which is usually water. On the other hand, the installations proposed so far have not been able to reconcile a compact presentation and the use of flaps comparable in their shape and dimensions to those used in installations which do not include a cleaning station. .

 The present invention specifically relates to a compact cleaning device for toilet seats, which provides each user of the sanitary installation equipped with this device a clean toilet seat similar in shape and in dimensions to the toilet seats usually used in. usual installations.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device for a toilet seat which ensures the cleaning of the upper and lower faces of the toilet seat.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device for toilet seat supplied by hydraulic power alone.

 For this, provision is made according to the present invention to circulate using a suitable conveying system a plurality of flaps, each flap successively occupying in the moils a position of use, a washing position and a position of drying.

 According to the present invention, provision is also made to control the conveying and the various operations to which the flaps are subjected using a single control member which triggers the operation of a hydraulic distributor.

 Provision is also made to equip the object-device of the present invention with a plurality of hydraulically operable members to simultaneously or successively perform the various operations involved in the cleaning cycle.

Finally, provision is made according to the present invention to equip each flap with at least one member ensuring the guiding of the flap during at least part of a use and cleaning cycle,
The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description made in conjunction with the attached drawings in which
FIG. 1 shows a flap used in connection with the cleaning device which is the subject of the invention, equipped with a pair of hooking members;
2 shows a schematic profile view of the cleaning device object of the invention adapted to a toilet bowl, the side wall of the device being removed; and
FIG. 3 represents a schematic front view of the cleaning device object of the invention adapted to a toilet bowl, the front wall of the device being removed.

 In connection with Figure 1, there is shown a flap 1 similar in shape and in size to the flaps usually used to cover the toilet bowls. In particular, the flap 1 comprises a generally planar body having an annular upper surface devoid of roughness or discontinuities, as well as an axis of symmetry. The rear part of the flap is traversed over its entire width by a rod 2 perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the flap contained in the general plane of the body thereof and held fixedly in that -this so that any rotation of the rod 2 around its axis causes a corresponding rotation of the flap. An L-shaped guide member 3 is fixed in the vicinity of each end of the rod 2 and comprises a sleeve 4 mounted coaxially to the rod 2 and fixedly held thereon, and a roller 5 of oblong shape integral with the sleeve and having an axis of symmetry which forms an angle with the general plane of the flap, so that the roller is offset from this plane, Each roller 5 ae is more distant than any point on the periphery 6 of the flap relative to the axis of symmetry thereof The rod 2 extends outwards beyond the rollers 5, so that the ends of the rod are capable of being received d in the links pierced with a chain.

 In connection with Figures 2 and 3-, the cleaning device object of the invention is fixed in a parallelepipedal b & ti 7 fixed to a bowl 8 forming a seat and ensures the circulation and cleaning of three flaps 1, 9 and 10 identical to the one. shown in Figure 1. The frame 7 comprises a front face facing the bowl, a rear face, two side faces and an upper face. The largest side of the front face of the frame 7 is disposed vertically above the bowl 8 to which the frame is fixed. At the bottom of the front face of the frame 7 a door ll -provided with a hinge 12 and a horizontal articulation to its upper part is capable of allowing the passage of a flap from the inside of the frame towards the outside of that, more precisely towards the top of the bowl 8 as well as a movement of return of the toilet seats to the interior of the frame.

 Inside the frame 7 two endless channels 13 are arranged so as to be substantially contained in planes respectively adjacent to the side faces of the frame and parallel to them.

The chains 13 are stretched and guided by four wheels 14, 15, 16 and 17, the toothed wheels 14 ensuring the drive of the chains while the wheels 15, 16 and 17 are mounted free on their axis
your cogwheels 14 which drive the chains 13 are thus mounted on the same shaft 18. The catches 13 counterparts ensure the conveying of three flaps 1, 9 and 10 between a position of use, a vertical washing position and a also vertical drying position FIG. 2 shows the flap 1 in the use position, the flap 9 in the washing position, and the flap 10 in the drying position. A drive pinion not shown is also mounted on the shaft 18 and cooperates with a toothed wheel 19 to drive the shaft 18 in rotation. The toothed wheel 19 is itself mounted on a shaft 20 parallel to the shaft 18 . The shaft 20 also carries a toothed wheel 21 which is driven by an endless chain 22 stretched and guided by another toothed wheel 23 disposed under the toothed wheel 21. The chain 22 is provided with three lugs 24 disposed at equal distance from each other. others along the chain 22. A hook 25 is fixed to the end of a vertical piston rod 26 of a hydraulic cylinder and oriented so as to grip a lug 24 of the chain when the piston 26 is in position: -of maximum elongation and to drive this lug when the rod 26 returns to the body 27 of the jack. The body 27 of the jack is provided with a connection element for hydraulic pipe with a lower part,
The cylinder body 27 can thus be supplied with water at its lower part. The body 27 of the jack is also provided with a hydraulic line connection point at its upper part, which makes it possible to supply the latter with water so as to drive the rod 26 downwards.

 A parallelepipedic water tank 28 is disposed at the lower part of the frame 7, along the vertical rear wall thereof.

 The tank 28, used as a flush tank, is equipped with a water supply device, the arrival of the water being able to be interrupted by a shutter arm fixed to a float 62 as is known. in the technique for supplying a conventional flush tank.

A slide 29 is fixed to the upper face of the frame 7, inside the frame. The slide 29 is perpendicular to the front face of the frame and is arranged substantially equidistant from the side faces of the frame, as shown in FIG. 3
The slide 29 receives, in sliding mode, a stirrup 30, a U-shaped gripping part comprising two wings parallel to the front face of the frame and directed downwards. The spacing between these two wings corresponds substantially to the thickness of a flap.

 An elastic rod 66 urges the stirrup 30 towards the rear end of the slide 29. The rod 66 is anchored to the upper face of the frame using any device - suitable.

 A vertical hydraulic cylinder. 31 comprising a body 32 and a piston rod 33 is arranged under the toothed wheel 14.

 The body 32 of the jack 31 has two water supply points, situated respectively at its upper part and at its lower part, so that the rod 33 can be set in motion from top to bottom or from bottom to top, respectively, by the pressure of the feed water. The lower end of the rod 33 is articulated on one end of the hinge 12 of the door. 11, so that the door 11 is in the closed position when the rod 33 is in the retracted position in the body 32 of the jack. The rod 33 of the jack 31 s-supports in the vicinity of its median part a ring 34 to which the end is fixed.

a cable 35. guided by two pulleys 36 and 37 to a horizontal drum 38 whose axis is parallel to the front and rear faces of the frame 7 to which the other end of the cable 35 is fixed. A cable 39 is also fixed to the drum 38 so as to wind or unwind on it simultaneously with the cable 35 during rotation of the drum
One end of the cable 39 is fixed to the upper bent end of a generally vertical screen 40, the lower end of the screen 40 being wound on a horizontal drum 41 parallel to. the front face of the frame. The drum 41 is provided with an elastic return means (such as a spiral spring) which is not shown. Similarly, a screen 42 whose upper end is capable of being wound on the drum 41 extends downwards from the drum 41 and has a bent end 43 to which is fixed one end of a cable 65, the cable 6.5 passing over a guide pulley 44, then over the drum 38 to wind or unwind in the same way as the cable 39, it will be noted that in the variant embodiment shown, the screens 40 and 42 are each made in two parts: a first rigid and bent part in order to form a deflector and a second, flexible part, which can be wound on the drum 41. The screens can however be made entirely of a flexible material
The seats are guided from the drying position to the use position by two pairs of slides, one of which appears in FIG. 2. For each pair of slides, the slide 46 closest to the bottom of the boot 7 is arranged vertically1 the other slide 45 disposed facing it being slightly inclined relative to the vertical, so that the upper ends of the slides are more spaced from one another than their lower ends. The upper ends of the guides are also curved so as to accentuate the gap between the two guides at the upper end of the guide formed by each pair of guides. The two guides of each pair are arranged on either side of the plane. which contains the front part of the conveyor chain 13 and its counterpart.

 As can be seen in FIG. 3, the vertical planes which contain the conveyor chains 13 are closer to the lateral faces of the frame 7 than the vertical planes which contain the slides.

The flaps are washed by two rotary turnstiles 47 and 48 arranged on either side of the position occupied by each flap in the washing position so as to wash the two faces of each flap. Each turnstile is therefore capable of rotating in a plane parallel to the vertical faces of the frame 7, on either side of the plane which contains the rear part of the conveying channel 13 and its counterpart, parallel to this plane. Each turnstile consists of a tube closed at its two ends, a plurality of orifices being however formed in the cylindrical wall of the tube in the vicinity of each end, so as to be able to direct a jet of liquid towards the face of a flap located opposite the tube. Each turnstile is supplied with a mixture containing water and a volatile disinfectant liquid via a pipe not shown coming from a metering device 51 and leading to a turnstile supply system known per se (49 , 50) which ensures the rotation of the turnstile under the effect of the pressure of the water-disinfectant mixture. A recovery tank is arranged so as to collect the liquid which flows after the washing of the seats and to conduct this liquid in the bowl,
The metering device 51, located in the vicinity of the rear face of the frame 7, ensures the mixing of a volatile disinfectant liquid contained in a parallelepiped tank 52 located immediately above the metering unit and of water coming from the . tank 28.

 A vertical supply line 64 allows the. filling the reservoir 52 from the upper face of the molding 7. The metering device 51 is a hydraulic device known per se, such as a piston or continuous water circulation device.

A brush 58 placed horizontally in the vicinity of the middle of the front face of the boot 7 makes it possible to spread the cleaning mixture which is on the surface of a flap after the washing phase. It should however be noted that the drying of the flap is not ensured in the first place by contact with the brush but by the evaporation of the washing mixture, made volatile by the use of a disinfectant product of formula appropriate
The different phases of the conveying and cleaning of the flaps are triggered by a hydraulic distributor with manual control which ensures the sequential communication of the various active elements of the device and the water supply network. The manual control of the hydraulic distributor present in the form of a single push button 53 with punctual action emerging in the upper part of the front face of the frame 7q The push button 53 comprises a reset device not shown and is hydraulically connected to the body of a jack 59 with open purge arranged horizontally in the case 7, in the vicinity of the push button. This jack co'prte a piston at the end of which is fixed a rack 67 which rotates a camshaft 54 arranged vertically, by means of a free wheel 55. The piston of the jack 59 is biased by a spring not shown to a retracted position inside the cylinder body 59. The camshaft 54 comprises a greater number of cams 56 capable of cooperating with an equal number of mini-valves 57 during the rotation of the shaft to cams 54. The mini-valves 57 make it possible to supply network water with various parts of the machine, in particular the jack 59 of the hydraulic distributor, the reset device for the push button 53, the drive jack for the chain of conveying 27, the jack 32 which controls the opening and closing of the door 11 and the deployment of the notches 40 and 42, the metering device 51, the water tank 28 etc. The water supply to the various organs by the mini-valves 57 can take place simultaneously or successively according to the profile of the cams 56.

 As seen in Figure 3, one of the ends of a target 60 is connected to a plug 61 which controls the opening of the flush. The other end of the cable 60 is connected to the jack 59 actuated by the push button 53, so that the advance of the jack 59 pulls the cable 60 and causes the flush to open.

 Still in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3, we will now describe the operation of the device which is the subject of the invention. A pressure exerted by the user on the push button 53 triggers the water supply to the jack 59 and consequently the advance of the piston of the latter against the spring contained in the jack and the rotation of the shaft. cam The advance of the piston triggers the opening of the flush through the cable 60. The action of the free wheel 55 prevents the rotation of the cam shaft 54 during the advance of the piston The open purge of the jack 59 allows the gradual evacuation of the water contained therein, the spring 68 gradually returns the piston to its starting position, the free wheel 55 then realizing the rotation of the shaft to cams 54.

 A first cam of the shaft 54 triggers the opening of a first mini-valve which supplies the lower end of the jack 27. The pressure which then exerts on the piston of the jack 27 causes the latter to rise. ci, the end of the hook 25 protruding from one of the lugs 24 of the chain 22 to come into engagement with this lug.

The rotation of the camshaft 54 continues, a second mini-valve feeds the upper end of the body 32 of the jack 31, the piston 33 of which extends downwards out of the body 32, actuating the hinge 12 so as to open the front door 11 of the frame 7. By means of the ring 34 and the cables 35, 39 and 65, the downward movement of the piston 33 makes the screens 40 and 42 dirty,
The camshaft 54 continuing to be driven by the rack 67, a third mini-valve supplies the upper end of the jack 29, the rod of which retracts, which has the effect of pulling down the hook 25 and the lug 24 of the chaste 22 which is engaged therein. There follows a rotation of the chain 22 and the toothed wheel 21 which is associated with it, The toothed wheel 19 mounted coaxially with the toothed wheel 21 rotates also and drives the toothed wheel 14 which in turn drives the conveyor chain 13 and its counterpart The movement of the conveyor chains makes it possible to swap the flaps
The flap which has just been used (flap 1 in FIG. 2) passes into the washing position, that is to say vertically in the vicinity of the bottom of the housing 7 between the washing turnstiles 49 and 50 (position occupied by the flap 9 in Figure 2). At the same time, the flap which is in the washing position rises vertically until it engages with the stirrup 30, the middle of the fixed rear part of the flap being received between the wings of the The conveyor chains continuing their rotation, they drive the washed flap which moves parallel to itself, being held in place by the stirrup 30 which prevents it from oscillating. The flap drives the stirrup 30, which slides in the slide against the elastic rod 66. The rotation of the conveyor chains continuing, the washed seat reaches the horizontal end of travel and descends vertically until it disengages from the stirrup 30 which then returns to its initial position under the effect of the rod 66.

The washed toilet seat then occupies the drying position (occupied by the toilet seat 10 shown in FIG. 2).

 During the movement of the conveyor chains, the flap which was in the drying position is driven vertically downwards by the chains and comes into contact with the brush 58 which contributes to complete its drying.

 During this descent, each of the rollers S of the flap engages between the slides 45 and 46 of each pair of slides, first without contact with the center slides.

 The descent of the flap continues, the front face of the rollers 5 comes to bear on the front slide 45 and the rear face of the rollers comes to press on the slide 46.

 The space between the slides narrowing, the continuation of the downward movement forces the rollers 5 to orient gradually vertically, always in contact with the slides.

 The rollers 5 being fixed relative to the flap, the rotation of the rollers towards their vertical position causes the flap to rotate horizontally. As the dry flap is tilted towards the horizontal, the flap body advances out of the frame 7 thanks to the space left free by the opening of the door 11 in the front wall of the housing 7. At the end of the downward movement of the secret flap, it is in the position of use on the bowl.

The movement of the flaps being finished, a fourth mini-valve feeds the lower end of the body 32 of the jack 31, so as to trigger the ascent of the piston 33 * This ascent of the piston 33 has the effect of closing the front door li of the frame 7 and deploy screens 40 and 42, which are inserted between the washing and drying positions of the flaps
Another mini-valve then controls the supply of the hydraulic metering device 51 which causes the washing turnstiles to be supplied with a cleaning mixture. The turnstiles 50 and 51 rotated by the pressure of the washing mixture ensure the washing of both sides of the flap which has just been used. After having sprayed the used flap, the washing mixture pours into the tank recovery from where it flows into the bowl.

 A last mini valve finally controls the filling of the water tank, the filling ending when the float 62 controls the closing of the supply line of the tank.

 The present description, which mainly relates to the active members of the device which is the subject of the invention, does not necessarily mention a certain number of elements such as ducts, valves, j-anointed seals, overflows, levels, and. well known in the hydraulic technique. It goes without saying, however, that such elements are necessary for the correct functioning of the device described.

 The present invention is not limited to the embodiments which have just been described, it is on the contrary liable to modifications and variants which will appear to those skilled in the art.

Claims (10)

 1 - Automatic cleaning device for toilet bowl flaps, comprising a means for conveying a plurality of flaps and a means for washing a flap, characterized in that it comprises a hydraulically controlled means ( 54, 59, 56., 57) which controls the succession and the triggering of the cleaning and conveying operations, this means .. being supplied with water by a single member (53) operable manually.  2 - Device according to claim 1, charac tdrisé in that the hydraulically controlled means comprises a hydraulic cylinder (59) which triggers a plurality of mini-valves via a camshaft (54),  3 - Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a chain (22) provided with a plurality of lugs (24) for rotating the means (13) for conveying the flaps, and a member (27) hydraulically controlled equipped with a movable hook (25) capable of cooperating with the lugs (24) of the chain (22).  4 - Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each flap (1, 9, 10) is provided with rollers (5) integral with the flap.  5 - Device according to claim 4, charac terized in that it comprises a plurality of slides (45,46) capable of coding with the rollers (5) mounted on the flaps4  6 - Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a door (11) capable of delivering passage to a flap.  7 - Device according to claim'6, characterized in that it comprises a means (31) actuated hydraulically to ensure the opening of the door and its closing ture  8 - Device according to claim 7, charac tersé in that it. comprises a mayen (31) hydraulically operable to deploy a screen (40, 42) capable of separating two parts of the path of the flaps,  9 - Device according to claims 7 and 8, characterized in that the same means ensures the door closing and the deployment of the screen (40, 42).  10 - Device according to claim 1, charac terized in that it comprises a movable means (29, 30) for guiding the flaps on a part of their journey.  li - Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the movable guide means comprises a stirrup (30) susoeptible to cooperate closely with a-part of a flap.  12 - Device according to claim 11, charac terse in that the stirrup is biased by an elastic return means.