GB2431937A

GB2431937A - Flush water distributor for a wc pan

Info

Publication number: GB2431937A
Application number: GB0621941A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Scott Roy Derbyshire
Original assignee: TWYFORD BATHROOMS
Current assignee: TWYFORD BATHROOMS
Priority date: 2005-11-05
Filing date: 2006-11-03
Publication date: 2007-05-09
Also published as: GB0621941D0; GB0522615D0

Abstract

A water closet pan has a bowl with a rim around the top thereof. Flushing water is directed into the bowl via a water inlet (24) both sideways and downwards to effect flushing. The flush water enters an ante-chamber (25) which is closed to the bowl by means of a flange (26) except for the water outlets through which water is directed into the bowl. This closed structure prevents the trapping of effluent in the area of the flushing water inlet which increases the hygiene of the pan. Furthermore, the inner face of the bowl (11) is configured to ensure that flushing water passes around the wall of the bowl to ensure adequate flushing.

Description

Improved Water Closet Pans This invention relates to improved water

closet pans.

Conventional pans have flushing water delivered to the interior of the pan at the top and rear of the pan. The water is required to carry out two functions, that is wash-down of the interior face of the bowl portion, and displacement of the fouled water, and any solids, from the sump of the toilet via the U-trap. Wash-down is effected by channelling a proportion of the water around and within a hollow rim from which it is discharged by a continuous narrow slot or a series of spaced parts, opening to the top of the bowl around its periphery. There may be larger volumes directed downwardly at the front and rear faces of the bowl due to large ports at those locations.

The rim portion containing the waterway is therefore made either as a separate hollow box-like portion added to the bowl in manufacture, or as an integral part made in manufacture. In either case it projects internally so as to overhang the top of the bowl around the whole or part of the periphery of the rim of the bowl.

This structure involves hidden passages and overhangs in the bowl, which impairs effective cleaning of the bowl, and the channel within the rim is of course completely inaccessible to cleaning.

In GB-A-204531 I it is proposed, for ease of manufacture, to provide a toilet pan having an inherently smooth internal contour, achieved by providing a WC pan which has a total absence of overhang about the periphery of the rim. The rim however still encloses a hollow waterway with one or more apertures for flushing water, with a step like shoulder extending around the bowl. This is directed upwardly, so does not have an overhang, but the internal waterway passage means that hygiene problems associated with such features are still encountered.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved water closet pan which has no internal or hidden water channels or ducts, yet is effective in directing flushing water to the parts of the pan where it is required.

According to the invention, a water closet pan comprises a bowl having a rim around the top thereof, and inlet means for introducing flushing water at a rear part of said bowl, characterised in that the inlet means is closed to the bowl save for openings at either side and a bottom thereof, which act respectively to direct streams of water into the bowl for flushing and an inner face of the rim is configured as a reverse slope, diverting outwardly and downwardly to provide an overhanging surface.

It will be appreciated that due to the configuration of the inner face of the rim the inner face is readily accessible for cleaning. The inner face of the rim may join to the main part of the bowl, where it joins or merges with a vertical surface below which the inner surface of the bowl converges inwardly and constructs towards the sump and u-bend of the toilet.

The inlet means may comprise two oppositely directed outlets for flushing water disposed to project the flushing water in two streams towards the sides of the bowl, to impact the inner face of the rim, and be directed round the inner face of the rim to the front of the bowl, where the streams will meet, and deposit most of the water at the front as a main quantity of flushing water, whilst a minor quantity from the stream runs down as wash water all around the bowl.

An embodiment of water closet pan according to the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-Figure 1 is a vertical fore-and-aft sectional view through the bowl of a water closet pan according to the invention; Figure 2 is a partly sectional and partly perspective view of the water closet bowl shown in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view from eye-level from in front of the water closet bowl shown in Figures 1 and 2.

A bowl of a water closet pan comprises a main bowl part which has an internal surface 11 divided into zones which are demarcated by discontinuities of slope which each provide a ridge line extending around the bowl. Thus an upper zone 15 extends down from the open top of the bowl to a discontinuity line 16, which slopes downwardly towards the rear of the bowl. The surface of the upper zone 15 is formed with a reverse slope, that is it slopes outwardly providing an overhang down to the discontinuity line 16, which plays an important part in directing water in the flushing operation. At line 16, the internal surface is continued by an upper bowl zone 17, which is deeper towards the front of the bowl than at the rear thereof, and includes a slight concave curvature of the upper surface, and a relatively long shallowly inclined front zone. The upper bowl zone 17 is bounded by a further discontinuity line or ridge 18, which marks the upper edge of a lower bowl zone 19, which constricts towards a sump 20 from which it is demarcated by a further discontinuity line 21. The sump 20 merges with a U-trap 22 and is connected by outlet pipe 23 to a soil stack in the usual manner.

Flushing water is admitted to the bowl at the rear of the top thereof, via a conduit 24 which leads from a flushing cistern (not shown) under pressure either from a static head, or being impelled by a pump. The flushing water enters an ante-chamber 25 in a housing 26 which projects into the bowl from the rear face of the upper zone 15. The housing 26 (best seen in Figures 1 and 3) has two oblique side faces 27, 28 with outlets 29, 30 directed one towards each side, and a lower face 31 which has a downwardly and forwardly directed outlet 32 therein. The flushing water is directed mainly to each side of the bowl generally impacting in the upper zone 15, with some cascading down the rear face from outlet 32 into the sump 20. The two main streams are directed around the inner surface of the bowl to meet at the front of the bowl, creating by their collision there, swirling and turbulence which is effective in ensuring the displacement of fouled water and solid matter. Also wash-down of the sides of the bowl is provided for by the minor parts of the is water jets which have less force than the main jets.

Splashing over the top of the tim is mainly prevented by the overhang provided by the upper zone 15 and also by the angling of the ridges 16, 18 downwardly from the rear to the front of the bowl.

The provision of the discontinuity lines and the ridges provided thereby, by friction and possibly inertia keep the main jets of the flushing water towards the upper part of the bowl for longer than in the prior art.

The toilet bowl construction of the invention enables full use to be made of the flushing water, to effect both flushing and wash down of the bowl, and due to the elimination of any hidden passages in the rim, eliminates potential dirt traps.

The configuration of the inner surface is such that no part of the surface is hidden from all points of view, and are all accessible for manual cleaning. This arrangement means that hygiene issues due to trapped dirt are eliminated or at least significantly reduced.

The embodiment of the invention described is by way of example only, and variations to the details thereof may be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A water closet pan comprises a bowl having a rim around the

top thereof, and inlet means for introducing flushing water at a rear part of said bowl, characterised in that the inlet means is closed to the bowl save for openings at either side and a bottom thereof, which act respectively to direct streams of water into the bowl for flushing and an inner face of the rim is configured as a reverse slope, diverting outwardly and downwardly to provide an overhanging surface.

2. A pan according to claim 1, wherein the inner face of the rim joins to the main part of the bowl, where it joins or merges with a vertical service below which the inner service of the bowl converts inwardly and constructs towards the sump and u-bend of the toilet.

3. A pan according to claim 2, wherein the inlet means comprises two oppositely directed outlets for flushing water disposed to project the is flushing water in two streams towards the sides of the bowl, to impact the inner face of the rim, and be directed round the inner face of the rim to the front of the bowl, where the streams will meet, and deposit most of the water at the front as a main quantity of flushing water, whilst a minor quantity from the stream runs down as wash water all around the bowl.

4. A pan according to any preceding claim substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.