WO2005106143A1

WO2005106143A1 - Adjustable height toilet

Info

Publication number: WO2005106143A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/004823
Authority: WO
Inventors: George Stewart
Original assignee: George Stewart
Priority date: 2004-05-05
Filing date: 2005-05-03
Publication date: 2005-11-10
Also published as: GB0409985D0

Abstract

An adjustable height toilet comprises a base, a bowl movably mounted to the base between a lowered position and a raised position, and a lid movably mounted from a closed through an intermediate to a raised position. The toilet is further responsive to movement of the lid to cause the toilet to assume a closed state, in which said bowl is maintained in the lowered position; to assume an intermediate state in which the bowl is raised relative to the base; and to assume a raised state in which the bowl is maintained at a user selected height relative to the base.

Description

Adjustable Height Toilet

The present invention relates to an adjustable height toilet.

Adjustable height urinals are known. For example, DE 100 25 348 discloses a urinal which is raised to a desired position when the urinal lid is lifted. The desired position is set according to the location of a switch located on body of the urinal. Where more than one operating position is required, a corresponding switch must be fitted to the body of the urinal.

According to the present invention there is provided an adjustable height toilet comprising: a base; a bowl movably mounted to the base between a lowered position and a raised position; a lid being movably mounted from a closed through an intermediate to a raised position; and means responsive to said lid movement to cause said toilet to assume a closed state in which said bowl is maintained in said lowered position; to assume an intermediate state in which said bowl is raised relative to said base; and to assume a raised state in which said bowl is maintained at a user selected height relative to said base.

Preferably, the toilet is arranged to be used as a urinal

The present invention allows a user to determine any suitable height for a bowl between a lowered position and a raised position through interaction with a toilet lid. Preferably, said toilet further comprises a hydraulic ram connected between said bowl and said base, said ram being in fluid communication with a fluid supply and being operable to extend and retract under said means responsive to said lid movement .

Further preferably, said ram is in fluid communication with a water inlet in said bowl and said fluid supply comprises a mains water supply. In this embodiment, said means responsive to said lid movement causes said toilet to assume a flushing state in which water is drained from said hydraulic ram through said bowl.

Preferably, said toilet cycles through said closed, intermediate, raised, intermediate and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

Alternatively, said toilet cycles through said closed, flushing, intermediate, raised, intermediate, flushing and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

Alternatively, said toilet cycles through said closed, intermediate, raised, flushing and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1(a) and 1(b) are front views of an adjustable height toilet according to a first embodiment of the invention in a closed state and a fully raised state respectively; Figure 2(a) is an internal view from the rear of an adjustable height toilet according to a variation of the embodiment of Figures 1(a) and 1(b); 5 Figure 2 (b) is an internal side view of the toilet of Figure 2 (a) showing a variation of bowl shape;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the toilet of Figures 2 (a) and 10 2(b);

Figure 4 is a plan view of an alternative actuator system for an adjustable height toilet;

15. Figures 5(a) and 5(b) are front views of an adjustable height toilet according to a further embodiment of the invention in a closed state and a raised state respectively; and

Figures 6(a) and 6(b) are respective internal side views of 20 the toilet of Figure 5(a) and 5(b).

Referring to Figure 1 (a) and Figure 1 (b) of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a first embodiment of a height adjustable toilet, generally indicated as 10. The toilet 10 is 25 of a pedestal type essentially comprising a toilet bowl 12 movably mounted to a base 13, a lid 14 provided on the toilet bowl, and a hydraulic system operatively associated with the lid 14, the hydraulic system being operable to raise and lower the height of the toilet bowl relative to the base.

30 In Figure 1 (b) , the bowl 12 is shown as having a generally tubular shape suitable for sliding within a sleeve like base 13. In Figure 2(b), the bowl 12 is shown as having a more conventional tapered profile. For clarity, the mounting mechanism enabling each bowl 12 to move relative to the base 13 has not been shown, but it will be appreciated that it in each, this may be implemented with conventional mounting mechanisms .

The toilet bowl 12 includes a water inlet 16 located near the upper end and a waste outlet 18 located at the lower end to which a drainage hose 15 is connected, Figure 2 (b) . The drainage hose 15 is made of a suitable flexible material.

In the first embodiment, the hydraulic system enables the toilet 10 to adopt at least three different states of operation through user interaction with the lid 14. In a first state, the lid 14 is at an intermediate angle to the horizontal axis causing the toilet bowl 12 to be raised. In a second state, the lid 14 is in a fully raised position at approximately a 90 degree angle to the horizontal axis enabling the user to stop the movement of the toilet bowl 12 once it has reached its desired height. In a third state, the lid 14 is closed and the height of the toilet 10 lowered. Preferably, in this third state, fluid, preferably water, is flushed out of the hydraulic system through the toilet bowl 12 thereby simultaneously lowering the bowl 12 and flushing the toilet 10.

Referring now to Figures 2 (a) and 2 (b) , which illustrate the hydraulic system of the toilet 10, the hydraulic system comprises a water driven hydraulic ram 30 provided in the pedestal base 13. The hydraulic ram 30 comprises a hydraulic cylinder 32 and a piston rod 34. The piston rod 34 is positioned for reciprocating movement along a generally vertical axis within the hydraulic cylinder 32. The piston rod 34 is hollow and is arranged to convey water to and from the hydraulic cylinder 32.

The hydraulic ram 30 also comprises an inlet 36, adapted to receive water from the water main supply and an outlet 38, through which the water is conveyed to the toilet bowl 12.

As well as the drainage hose 15, the hydraulic system also comprises a hose 50, extending from the mains supply (not shown) to the inlet 36, and a hose 52 extending from the outlet 38 to the toilet bowl inlet 16. The hoses 50, 52 are composed of a suitable flexible material.

The drainage hose 15 and mains supply hose 50 are arranged in a spiralling manner around the hydraulic cylinder 32. When the toilet bowl 12 is raised and lowered, the hoses 15, 50 extend and contract to accommodate this movement without kinking and so providing smooth fluid flow in and out of the toilet 10. It will also be seen that the drainage hose 15 is preferably of wider diameter than the mains supply hose to accommodate solid waste.

In the first embodiment, the piston rod 34 is in fluid communication with the inlet 36 and the outlet 38, the control of which is manipulated by means of respective first and second valves 42, 44.

The valves 42 and 44 are disposed along a valve bar 46, which is fixed to the rear of the toilet bowl. The valve bar 46 is in turn fixed to an upper end 33 of the piston rod 34 so that movement of the piston rod causes the bowl to move upwards and downwards within the base 13.

A pair of valve actuators 68 are disposed along the valve bar 46 in a manner such that interaction with the toilet lid enables the valve actuators 68 to open and close the valves 42 and 44.

The hoses 50, 52 enable the first valve 42 to control the flow of water from the mains supply through the piston rod 34 to the hydraulic cylinder 32 and the second valve 44 to control the flow of water from the hydraulic cylinder 32 through the piston rod 34 to the toilet bowl inlet 16.

When valve 42 is open and valve 44 is closed, water is conveyed from the mains via hose 50 to the valve bar 46 and down through the hollow piston rod 34 to the hydraulic cylinder 32. As the water level in the hydraulic cylinder 32 rises under mains pressure, the piston rod 34 extends and pushes upwardly against the toilet bowl 12, thereby raising the toilet 10 in height.

In the present embodiment, when valve 44 is open and valve 42 is closed, the water in the hydraulic cylinder is flushed from the piston rod 34 through the open valve 44 into the toilet bowl 12 and down the drain through the drainage hose 15. As the water level in the hydraulic cylinder 32 drops, the piston rod 34 retracts accordingly, thereby lowering the height of the toilet 10.

When both valves are closed, water is held in the hydraulic system and so the bowl will remain at a constant height enabling a user to use or sit on the toilet at a comfortable height.

Referring now to Figure 3, which is a detailed plan view of the toilet shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b) showing the mounting of the lid 14 to the toilet bowl 12 in more detail. The lid 14 includes a pair of mounting brackets 66 projecting from opposite rearwardly directed corners of the lid. The bowl 12 further includes a pair of upwardly directed spaced-apart mounts 70,71, which are in use disposed outside the brackets

66. An axle 64 extends between the mounts through the brackets 66 to allow the lid 14 to pivot relative to the bowl 12.

A pair of cams, 60, 62 are disposed along the axle 64 and are in contact with respective valve actuators 68. Thus the valve actuators 68 act as respective cam followers.

In operation, as the lid pivots from its closed to its fully raised position, the cams 60, 62 bear down on the respective valve actuators 68 and selectively actuate the valves 42, 44 to assume an open or closed position according to the displacement of the respective cam profile from the axle 64.

As mentioned above, in the first embodiment, the toilet 10 assumes one of three states of operation at any one time.

When the lid 1^'4 is lifted to an intermediate position, the valve 42 is opened and the second valve 44 remains closed to allow the hydraulic cylinder 32 to receive water conveyed from the mains supply through the inlet 36 and cause the piston rod 34 to extend and push upwardly against the toilet bowl 12 thereby raising the toilet 10 in height. The toilet bowl 12 continues to be raised until either the hydraulic ram 30 reaches its maximum extension or the toilet assumes a different state.

Further upward movement of the lid 14 into a fully raised position causes the cams 60, 62 to rotate further. In accordance with the cam profiles, the toilet 10 assumes a second state with the valve 42 being closed and the second valve 44 remaining closed wherein the filling of the cylinder 32 is stopped. This state advantageously enables a user of the toilet 10 to stop the movement of the toilet bowl 12 once it has reached the desired height.

Once the lid 14 is moved fully downwards through the intermediate position into a closed position, the toilet 10 assumes the third state of operation. The cams 60 and 62 bear down on the valve actuators 68, causing the second valve 44 to move into the open position and the first valve 42 to remain closed. In this state, the water is flushed out of the hydraulic cylinder 32 into the toilet bowl 12 and passes down the hose 15 to the drain (not shown) , thereby lowering the piston rod 34 and thus the toilet 10.

In a second embodiment, the toilet 10 assumes one of four states of operation at any one time.

When lid 14 of the toilet 10 is lifted to an angle of approximately between 0 and 45 degrees to the horizontal, the toilet 10 assumes a first intermediate state of operation.

During this state, both valves 42, 44 are opened, and water is flushed from the mains through the hydraulic cylinder 32, into the toilet bowl 12 and down the drainage hose 15. Advantageously, once the lid 14 is held at this state, the toilet 10 will continue to flush until the toilet assumes another state of operation.

When the lid 14 is lifted to an angle between 45 and 90 degrees approximately, the toilet 10 operates in a second intermediate state. The cams 60, 62 bear down on the valve actuators 68, with valve 42 being opened and with valve 44 remaining closed to allow the hydraulic cylinder 32 to receive water conveyed from the mains supply through the inlet 36 causing the piston rod 34 to extend and push upwardly against the toilet bowl 12 thereby raising the toilet 10 in height. The toilet bowl 12 continues to be raised until either the hydraulic ram 30 reaches its maximum extension or the toilet 10 assumes a different state.

Movement of the lid 14 to the fully raised position causes the valves 42, 44 to operate as in the first embodiment and for the toilet to adopt its third state.

When the lid 14 of the toilet is fully closed, the cams 60, 62 causing the first valve 42 to close with the second value 44 remaining open. Thus water is no longer being conveyed into the hydraulic cylinder 32 from the mains supply (not shown) and the toilet 10 will lower to its initial starting position as the remaining water is flushed from the hydraulic cylinder 32 under gravity.

It will be seen that in the second embodiment, as the lid 14 is raised, the toilet moves from a closed through flush and fill states to a fully raised state and the reverse for when the bowl 12 is lowered. It is acknowledged that this means that the bowl 12 will momentarily tend to flush before filling when the lid 14 is raised and will tend to momentarily fill before flushing when the lid 14 is lowered. This allows the system to flush from the mains supply for as long as a user requires if the system of the preferred embodiment would not drain properly with only the valve 44 being open.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown an alternative actuator mechanism. In this embodiment, the axle of the first embodiment is divided into two end portions 64" located within mounts 70', 71' and a central portion 64' fixed to the toilet through a mount (not shown) .

A pair of disc valves 42', 44' of the type typically employed in domestic taps are located inline between each end portion 64" and the central portion 64'. Each valve comprises a generally cylindrical body having an inlet and an outlet (indicated by the arrows) and a valve spindle (not shown) extending from and rotatable relative to the body. Each valve body is fixed relative to the central portion 64" so that each valve spindle extends away from the central portion 64". The lid 14' is mounted to the axle via mounts 66' which locate over and engage respective valve spindles. The end portions 64' of the axle are located into the mounts 66' to fix the lid laterally on the toilet.

Lifting of the lid 14' causing rotation of the lid relative to the axle causes each valve spindle to rotate through approximately 90° relative to the valve body. According to the setting and configuration of the discs within each valve 42', 44', movement of the spindle will cause each valve to selectively move from an open to a closed state as described above. Thus water can selectively flow from the mains supply through the valve inlet/outlet for the valve 42' into the piston 34 and from the piston through the valve inlet/outlet for the valve 44' into the bowl as required to move the toilet through the closed, intermediate flushing and filling and raised states as described above.

It will be seen that in further variations of the above embodiment, the outlet for the valve 42' and the inlet for the valve 44' can be combined into a single channel connected to the piston 34.

It will be seen that in the above embodiments, the state of the toilet 10 is directly coupled to the position of the lid

14. Because of this, in the second embodiment, it is difficult to distinguish between upward movement of the lid 14, where it is desired to cause the bowl 12 to raise when the lid 14 is in an intermediate position, and downward movement of the lid 14, where it is desired to cause the bowl 12 to flush when the lid 14 is in an intermediate position.

In a further embodiment of the invention, not shown, the bowl 12 is provided with three limit switches, each connected to a controller which in turn controls the valves 42,44. The first limit switch determines when the lid is in a closed position. A second limit switch determines when the lid 14 is in a fully raised position. A third limit switch determines when the lid 14 has left either the closed or fully raised positions and is in an intermediate position. When the lid 14 enters the intermediate position from the closed position, the toilet 12 operates in the second intermediate (fill) state as in the second embodiment. When the lid 12 enters the intermediate position from the fully raised position, the toilet 10 operates in the first intermediate (flush) state as in the second embodiment. In this way, the toilet 10 moves from a closed through fill to fully raised through flush and then to a closed state cycle as the lid 14 is raised and lowered without needing to pass through unwanted intermediate states.

It will be seen that this embodiment can be implemented with either electronic or hydraulic control circuitry although it is preferable to use the latter for reasons of electrical safety.

In a still further embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 5(a) and 5(b), the toilet 10' comprises a bowl 12' which has a generally tubular sleeve like shape suitable for allowing it to slide over a fixed base 13' . Such an arrangement results in a more hygienic toilet design, which is easier to clean.

In this embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic ram of the toilet 10' comprises a cylinder 32' within which there is provided a hollow extendable concertina portion 80 in fluid communication with a hollow rod 82, as illustrated in Figure 6(a) and (b) .

The concertina portion 80 comprises an inlet 36' , adapted to receive water from the main supply. At its top end, the rod 82 comprises an outlet (not shown) , through which the water is conveyed to the toilet bowl. A backplate 84 is provided in the toilet bowl 12, which conceals the outlet and which deflects flushing water around the bowl 12, as illustrated in figure 5(b).

The flow of liquid from the inlet 36' allows the concertina portion 80 to expand or contract, thereby causing the rod 82, and thus the bowl 12 to raise or lower in co-operation with the movement of the lid 14 as described in relation to the first embodiment .

When the lid 14 is closed the concertina portion 80 contracts and the rod extends to the bowl from within the cylinder as illustrated in figure 6(a). As the lid is raised, the cylinder fills with water and the concertina portion 80 expands, forcing the rod to extend and push upwardly against the toilet bowl, as illustrated in figure 6(b). Once the water is expelled from the cylinder, the concertina portion 80 retracts lowering the rod and thereby the bowl.

A drainage hose or pipe 15' is connected at one end to the waste outlet 18 of the bowl 12' . The drainage hose 15' connects to a hollow concertina portion 86 located at the other end and which provides fluid communication from the waste outlet to the drain. When the toilet bowl is raised and lowered the concertina portion 86 extends and contracts to accommodate this movement.

While the embodiments above have been described in terms of a hydraulic ram, the invention is also applicable to toilets and in particular urinals adjustable by electrical and mechanical means. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, which may be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims :

1. An adjustable height toilet comprising: a base; a bowl movably mounted to the base between a lowered position and a raised position; a lid being movably mounted from a closed through an intermediate to a raised position; and means responsive to said lid movement to cause said toilet to assume a closed state in which said bowl is maintained in said lowered position; to assume an intermediate state in which said bowl is raised relative to said base; and to assume a raised state in which said bowl is maintained at a user selected height relative to said base.

2. The toilet of claim 1 wherein a hydraulic ram is connected between said bowl and said base, said ram being in fluid communication with a fluid supply and being operable to extend and retract under said means responsive to said lid movement.

3. The toilet of claim 2 wherein said ram is in fluid communication with a water inlet in said bowl.

4. The toilet of claim 2 or 3 wherein said fluid supply comprises a mains water supply.

5. The toilet of claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the hydraulic ram comprises a hydraulic cylinder and a piston rod for reciprocating movement along a generally vertical axis within the cylinder.

6. The toilet of claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the hydraulic ram comprises a cylinder having a coaxial concertina portion in fluid communication with a rod, wherein said concertina portion expands and retracts in response to said lid movement,

7. The toilet of claim 1, wherein said means responsive to said lid movement causes said toilet to assume a flushing state in which water is drained from said hydraulic ram through said bowl.

8. The toilet of claim 1 wherein said toilet cycles through said closed, intermediate, raised, intermediate and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

9. The toilet of claim 1 wherein said toilet cycles through said closed, flushing, intermediate, raised, intermediate, flushing and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

10. The toilet of claim 1 wherein said toilet cycles through said closed, intermediate, raised, flushing and closed states as said lid is raised and lowered.

11. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a sleeve and the bowl is arranged to move within the base.

12. The toilet of claim 1 wherein the bowl comprises a sleeve arranged to move over the base.

13. The toilet of claim 1 wherein a drainage hose is provided for draining fluid from the bowl, said drainage hose including a concertina portion operable to extend and retract in response to said lid movement.

14. The toilet of claim 4 wherein a hose extends from the main supply to the inlet and is arranged in a spiralling manner to accommodate movement in response to said lid movement.

15. The toilet of claim 14 wherein a drainage hose is provided for draining fluid from the bowl and is arranged in a spiralling manner to accommodate movement in response to said lid movement.

16. The toilet of claim 15 wherein each of said hose and said drainage hose spiral around said hydraulic ram.