GB2574273A - Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl - Google Patents
Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2574273A GB2574273A GB1809067.0A GB201809067A GB2574273A GB 2574273 A GB2574273 A GB 2574273A GB 201809067 A GB201809067 A GB 201809067A GB 2574273 A GB2574273 A GB 2574273A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- toilet seat
- lid
- bleach
- seat lid
- dispenser
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
- E03D—WATER-CLOSETS OR URINALS WITH FLUSHING DEVICES; FLUSHING VALVES THEREFOR
- E03D9/00—Sanitary or other accessories for lavatories ; Devices for cleaning or disinfecting the toilet room or the toilet bowl; Devices for eliminating smells
- E03D9/002—Automatic cleaning devices
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
- E03D—WATER-CLOSETS OR URINALS WITH FLUSHING DEVICES; FLUSHING VALVES THEREFOR
- E03D9/00—Sanitary or other accessories for lavatories ; Devices for cleaning or disinfecting the toilet room or the toilet bowl; Devices for eliminating smells
- E03D9/005—Devices adding disinfecting or deodorising agents to the bowl
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E03—WATER SUPPLY; SEWERAGE
- E03C—DOMESTIC PLUMBING INSTALLATIONS FOR FRESH WATER OR WASTE WATER; SINKS
- E03C1/00—Domestic plumbing installations for fresh water or waste water; Sinks
- E03C1/12—Plumbing installations for waste water; Basins or fountains connected thereto; Sinks
- E03C2001/1213—Constructional features of bidet bowls; adapters for using other sanitary appliances as bidet
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Public Health (AREA)
- Epidemiology (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
- Water Supply & Treatment (AREA)
- Toilet Supplies (AREA)
Abstract
A toilet seat lid 81 comprises a mechanism to automatically dispense bleach or another disinfectant for cleaning the toilet bowl. The bleach may be dispensed from a reservoir incorporated into the lid itself or from a peripheral receptacle onto which a bottle is mounted. The dispenser uses an arm assembly for dispensing the bleach into the bowl. The arms (170, fig 13e) may be retractable and the entire assembly may also rotate whilst dispensing. The lower side of the lid may extend through the toilet seat opening and to the level of the inside rim of the bowl, such that the bleach may be dispensed below the rim. Infrared sensors 107 may be used to detect the presence of a human and hence stop the automated process. To program the system, the user may interact with it directly, using a remote control, or over a wireless network from a smartphone or computer.
Description
Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated Bleach/Disinfectant dispenser for the Flush Toilet Bowl.
Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to an Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid). In particular, it relates to an Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid with the capacity to store and to automatically dispense bleach/disinfectant into toilet bowl and also relates to an Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid with the capacity to automatically dispense bleach/disinfectant into toilet bowl from a peripheral receptacle of a compatible bottle of Bleach/disinfectant.
Background of the Invention.
Current means of disinfecting the Flush Toilet Bowl involve manually sgueezing bleach or other disinfectant out of a plastic bottle under the rim, onto the inside wall of the flush toilet bowl, and also into the flush toilet bowl. The Bleach or other disinfectant is then allowed to flow down the inside wall of the toilet bowl and into the water retaining part of the toilet bowl. The downward flow helps the bleach to cover as much internal wall surface as is possible and when allowed to stay will disinfect the toilet bowl by killing any disease causing and carrying agents and micro-organisms that may be in the toilet bowl and also freshens the bowl.
The exact process for the above is as follows: A person manually holding the bottle with bleach or other disinfectant, opening it, bending over or near the flush toilet bowl, extending the arm holding the plastic bottle into the flush toilet bowl, positioning the bottle nozzle at an optimum position for optimum dispensing of the bleach or other disinfectant and squeezing the bottle thereby squirting the bleach or other disinfectant under the rim, to the inside walls and into the bowl of the flush toilet bowl. While maintaining or varying the pressure of the squeeze on the bottle of bleach or other disinfectant, the hand follows the rim clockwise and anti-clockwise as the bleach or other disinfectant is squirted under the rim, to the inside walls and into the bowl of the flush toilet bowl. The person then releases the squeeze, withdraws plastic bottle of the bleach or other disinfectant, closes the bottle of bleach or other disinfectant and puts it away for safe storage. The bleached or disinfected flush toilet bowl is not rinsed immediately to allow the bleach or disinfectant to act or sanitise over some time or overnight. The disinfecting process is then followed by rinsing of the bleach or other disinfectant from the flush toilet bowl. After the desired sanitising time period has elapsed or the next morning, water is flushed into the Flush Toilet bowl to rinse out the bleach or other disinfectant thereby ending the sanitisation cycle. The above process is repeated daily, every other day, weekly or on an irregular basis and is flouted with irregularities with respect of the frequency of the activity and is a chore in itself. This task can become that much hated chore and a boring routine.
With the advent of home automation, a lot of appliances and processes/activities have benefited from advancements in key technologies like computer control namely microcontrollers, sensors, electromechanical, pneumatic/hydraulic and communication systems among others. This has allowed remote home monitoring and control of associated appliances including automation of a lot of activities and processes. Washing hands, drying hands, air freshening, vacuum cleaning, drawing and closing curtains, opening and closing windows/doors, starting and stopping air-conditioning systems among others, have all benefited from this wave of technological advances and the application of these advances is the subject of the invention described in this document.
In keeping up with trends in home automation, what best way than the use of the toilet seat(seat and lid) Assembly as a carrier of the reservoir, automation and communication elements thus in its entirety make up a system that implements the automation of the dispensing of bleach or other disinfectant into the flush toilet bowl and relays information to user and takes further commands or program parameter changes from user, in addition to controlling other peripheral systems(Cistern) for complimentary services.
The current invention thus seeks to eliminate the human element in the whole process of bleach/disinfectant dispensing into the flush toilet bowl so as to disinfect and eventual flushing so as to rinse the toilet bowl. The whole manual process of bleach or other disinfectant dispensing is reduced to only one step of reservoir top-up/replenish or bottle replacement at intervals determined by capacities of the reservoir or bottle. The appliance automatically and as per computer program, executes the dispensing and periodically updates and prompts the user with status information and levels of bleach or other disinfectant. Human intervention is only the topping up or refilling of the reservoir of the appliance with more or fresh bleach or other disinfectant or removal of a used up bottle from the bottle receptacle and replacement with a new bottle containing a fresh supply of bleach or other disinfectant onto the bottle receptacle on respective Appliance variant.
The apparatus is also capable of automatic flushing of the cistern into the flush toilet bowl by the automatic actuation of a valve on the piping from an enhanced cistern to the flush toilet bowl and can be interfaced to trigger any existing electronic flushing systems. The Apparatus (Intelligent and Enhanced Flush Toilet Seat Cover) is also capable of requesting a flush from an intelligent (enhanced) cistern System. As per user preferences set in the program parameters of the controller, the apparatus is capable of triggering or requesting an initial flush before dispensing bleach and a rinse flush after a set time interval from bleach or other disinfectant dispense action, in order to complete the process and completely eliminate human intervention in the process.
Inventions that incorporate the toilet seat and lid within some kind of device have been proposed and some of them are as follows and include:
US8060953B1, US 9339158B2, US 8776278B1 - for a toilet cleaning device, US3484876A - for an ornamental toilet seat design, US7096518B2 - for a Body part cleaning unit for toilet of which all are very different in purpose, construction and method of operation.
Summary of invention.
An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat lid with an embedded reservoir or structurally separate reservoir of bleach and/or automated dispenser of Bleach(or other Disinfectant) for the Flush Toilet Bowl. The intelligent and enhanced toilet seat lid is for domestic, industrial and commercial including mobile facilities use.
The present invention seeks to provide an intelligent and enhanced toilet seat lid which:
In standard form, is internally hollow with a thin outer shell and is cut open horizontally in the middle to yield two identical sections, a base and a cover/lid. Leaving a few millimetres clearance from toilet seat opening perimeter and larger clearance from toilet bowl inside top surface, the base of the bottom section is extruded down into the toilet seat opening and into the toilet bowl to a depth matching that of the inner rim of toilet bowl. The resulting shape of the extruded base is almost similar to a turned over straw hat. The base of the first extrusion is cut out and/or a matching flat plate is selectively and partially extruded back up from around the inner rim of toilet bowl towards the toilet seat. Another flat plate matching the top opening of the first extrusion is selectively and partially extruded down into the first extrusion. The second and third extrusions mate within the straw hat shaped first extrusion to form a supporting mid-section. The selective and partial second and third extrusions employed above create mini subchambers and recesses to house the other components that complement the assembly process for the toilet seat lid and dispenser. The cover/lid yielded from the horizontal cut above and with a suitable seal and means to secure back to mating base, further yields top chamber which then becomes an embedded reservoir. The process just described yields a chassis for the now enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser according to the present invention.
The process described above is only meant to illustrate the transformation from a standard toilet seat lid to the chassis of an enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser by extruding flat surfaces and should not be limiting in any way as far as it relates to the present invention. Plastic moulding processes among the many industrial processes will yield the same chassis as described above in a more direct efficient and cost effective way and they lend themselves well to the realisation of the components required for the present invention.
An alternative to the embedded reservoir above is a dedicated and structurally separate reservoir fitted in the hollow chamber of the toilet seat lid above making the top part of the toilet seat lid removable to allow the installation of the reservoir inside the toilet seat lid and top to be fitted back in place. The said dedicated and structurally separate reservoirs also have recesses to accommodate some complimentary components of the full system;
The present invention seeks to provide an intelligent and enhanced toilet seat lid which:
In standard form, functions as a base onto which a standalone system made up of a dedicated, structurally separate and recessed reservoir together with some complimentary components of the full system are mounted. The toilet seat lid has got to have a hole cut out in order that the lower chamber of the retrofitted system will reach low enough into the flush toilet bowl for the dispense mechanism to be suitably and optimally positioned for efficient dispense of bleach/disinfectant;
In standard form, has neither an embedded reservoir nor a reservoir mounted within it but system has a receptacle for a bottle of bleach/disinfectant. The receptacle is mounted at a convenient distance from the toilet seat lid, on the toilet bowl, on the Cistern or on the wall or some convenient place. Silicone tubing or Plastic piping or stainless steel tubing from the receptacle will pass through recesses within the seat lid to the dispense mechanism within an enclosure on the underside of the seat lid;
Has both a raised perimeter and top i.e. the volume is vertically enlarged from that of standard toilet seat lid to achieve a capacity for greater volume. The enclosed space forms a hollow chamber to in itself become an embedded Reservoir with a structurally reinforced wall and top for strength and structural integrity or a dedicated, structurally separate and recessed reservoir is fitted into the hollow chamber within the said increased volume of toilet seat lid.
The present invention also seeks to provide an Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid which in the standard, is internally hollow to form a chamber which in itself becomes an embedded Reservoir and is structurally reinforced for strength and structural integrity or a dedicated and structurally separate reservoir fitted in the hollow chamber of the toilet seat lid or has neither an embedded reservoir nor a reservoir mounted within it but system has a receptacle for a bottle of bleach/disinfectant:
has the lower side of the lid extending lower into the toilet seat opening and beyond, while leaving an even clearance with the toilet seat inner perimeter, right round. The toilet seat lower surface area as projected from the toilet seat inner perimeter to within millimetres to allow for clearance is extruded downwards into the toilet seat opening and beyond to just about the level of the lower inside rim of the toilet bowl. The extruded volume to within a couple of millimetres is hollow and surface subtending the volume is removable. Within this volume lies the dispense mechanism either extensible/retractable or in situ, silicone tubing with or with no nozzles at the ends and some sensors
The present invention also seeks to provide an Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid which has both a raised perimeter and top i.e. the volume is vertically enlarged from that of standard toilet seat lid to achieve a capacity for greater volume. The enclosed space forms a hollow chamber to in itself become an embedded Reservoir with a structurally reinforced wall and top for strength and structural integrity or a dedicated, structurally separate and recessed reservoir is fitted into the hollow chamber within the said increased volume of toilet seat lid which:
has the lower side of the lid extending lower into the toilet seat opening and beyond, while leaving an even clearance with the toilet seat inner perimeter, right round. The toilet seat lower surface area as projected from the toilet seat inner perimeter to within millimetres to allow for clearance is extruded downwards into the toilet seat opening and beyond to just about the level of the lower inside rim of the toilet bowl. The extruded volume to within a couple of millimetres is hollow and surface subtending the volume is removable. Within this volume lies the dispense mechanism either extensible/retractable or in situ, silicone tubing with or with no nozzles at the ends and some sensors.
The Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid Assembly is an integration of an embedded reservoir embedded or structurally separate reservoir within the toilet seat lid or separately mounted bottle receptacle, Electromechanical, Computer Control and Wired or Wireless Communication system enhancements which completely changes the functionality of the Toilet Seat Lid from solely being a toilet seat lid for the flush toilet bowl as is generally the case to also that of a reservoir and/or an Automatic Dispenser of bleach/disinfectant for the flush toilet bowl. The Computer Control and Communication enhancements further allow the Toilet Seat Lid to trigger the flushing of the cistern to wet and rinse out the flush toilet bowl before and after dispensing of bleach or other disinfectant respectively. Further to the above, the Communication enhancement also allows the Toilet Seat Lid to communicate with a wireless remote control unit and/or Smartphone Application so as to allow User/Dispenser interaction and Dispenser to User Status Notifications. The enhanced Toilet Seat Lid will also be referred to as the Apparatus, the Device or the Automatic and Programmable Bleach or other Disinfectant Dispenser or simply Dispenser. The terms are used interchangeably and mean one and the same thing.
The Dispenser, which is an electromechanical device, uses motorised, pneumatic or hydraulic linearly extensible and retractable arm assembly or swing in and out arm assembly or linear translation arm assembly on which flexible rubber or silicone tubing with nozzles at the ends are mounted. The Dispenser also uses rotary actuation of the whole dispense arm mounting member supporting the dispense arm mechanism. The nozzles discharge bleach or other Disinfectant below the Rim, to the inside walls of the Bowl and into the Bowl of the flush toilet.
The apparatus is either embedded at manufacture within a toilet seat lid whose top is raised higher than a standard toilet seat lid thus this contraption serves as a replacement for the standard flush toilet seat lid and seat assembly (set) or is a separate assembly that can be retrofitted to an existing flush toilet seat lid thereby raising the top and also enhancing the functionality of the seat lid. The raised top of the enhanced flush toilet seat lid accommodates a Reservoir for the Bleach/Disinfectant, a programmed or programmable Electronic Control Board, one or more electric motors and other components.
The said enhanced flush toilet seat lid is hinged to its flush toilet seat as normal but is motorised. The motorised hinge is either a single motor or a dual motor configuration in which the former allows just the Flush Toilet Seat lid to transition between the vertical and horizontal positions relative to the flush toilet Seat and flush toilet bowl while the latter further allows the flush toilet seat to transition relative to both flush toilet seat cover in vertical position and flush toilet bowl horizontal top.
Electronic sensors on the apparatus allow the device to behave and respond intelligently to its environment and also know its state so that it acts appropriately as per programmed instructions. The following are the sensors that allow the device to work efficiently: Bleach/Disinfectant level sensor inside the reservoir, Infra-red sensors round the sides of the toilet seat lid, Toilet seat lid open or closed sensors, Dispense arms home position or dispensing position sensors, Rotary action home position and Rotary action reverse to home position.
The Bleach/disinfectant level sensor which allows the appliance to know how much Bleach/disinfectant is in reservoir and if too low then system will message the user and illuminate appropriately to notify user of the impending exhaustion of Bleach/disinfectant. Infra-red sensors or motion detectors allow the appliance to detect human presence so that any impending actuation of the system as per program can be aborted or delayed until the abort trigger signal has been cleared. The toilet seat lid open or closed sensors detect either of the states thus allowing the system to know what steps to take to get to the correct state to proceed with actuation satisfactorily. When lid is open, the hinge motors are driven so that the lid transitions from the open position(vertical) to the closed position(horizontal) on toilet seat. Seat Closed Sensors will detect the new position of the toilet seat lid allowing for the actuation of the dispense cycle to start. Dispense Arms Home Position Sensor allow the system to detect when the arms are tucked away to home position so that the base plate slot is covered for safety and neat conclusion to the dispense cycle. Dispense Arm at Dispense position sensors allow the system to stop the motors that drive the arms and then the dispense pump and rotary action motors are started when the optimum dispense arm position has been reached.
On the underside of the seat cover is a recess which makes up part of the enclosure which extend below the standard seat base(bottom) into the flush toilet seat opening. The said lower enclosure houses the dispense mechanism that is either extensible and retractable or in situ and has a base plate cover to keep the dispense arm beyond reach and neatly tucked away. The bottom cover or base plate cover of the lower chamber of the dispense mechanism enclosure has slots that open and close automatically. The said slots on the bottom enclosure cover allow the extensible and retractable dispense mechanism to manoeuvre from within the enclosure to the optimum operation position when open. When closed, the dispense mechanism is tucked away neatly and safely out of sight.
The actuation of the extensible and retractable Dispense Mechanism so as to get the nozzle in the optimum position to dispense the bleach is either electromechanical or pneumatic or hydraulic. Multiple Nozzle ended Silicone Tubing or Plastic Tubing/Piping or combination of both for dispensing the bleach/Disinfectant are mounted on an extensible and retractable dispense arm assembly, swing in and out arm assembly or linear translation arm assembly. The dispense mechanism is actuated into a convenient position as per fixed setting or self calibration setting achieved through self teaching using sensors. With the in situ assembly, no actuation of dispensing nozzle mechanism to convenient working position is necessary as working position is set as a factory default.
Dispensing process involves moving the whole dispense mechanism both clockwise and counter-clockwise in sequence once or multiple times as the bleach/Disinfectant is squirted below the Rim, to the inside walls of the Bowl and into the Bowl of the flush toilet. Once the calibrated amount of bleach or other Disinfectant has been dispensed, the dispense valves located anywhere from within the nozzles, along the rubber tubing or plastic piping length or by the outlet of the reservoir are shut off and the nozzles return to their home position for the extensible and retractable nozzle mechanism. The mechanism retracts to home position and the nozzle enclosure is closed. The timing for the dispensing comes set as a default and can also be changed as required by the user.
The apparatus can be stand-alone or can be part of an automatic flushing system and if part, the apparatus will request a flush before bleach is dispensed and hours later after allowing the bleach to sanitize the Flush Toilet. The communication between the apparatus and other peripheral devices can be wired or wireless. A dedicated remote control unit with control keys(buttons) and a small display panel for dispenser status information and program menu is also part of configuration to allow reconfiguration or initiate other events and display status reports.
Advantages .
The advantages that the current invention brings are weighed in against the manual process of disinfecting the flush toilet bowl since there is no other electromechanical implementation of same solution in the current types of toilet seat(seat and lid) Assemblies. Automation is thus the first advantage that stands out and marks the incorporation of flush toilet bowl disinfecting into home automation activities(processes) . Second advantage is the ability to interrogate, trigger and acquire status information of the enhanced toilet seat(seat and lid) by the user via a Smartphone App or dedicated wireless remote control unit or over a computer network. User also gets refill prompts when bleach or other disinfectant levels get below a lower threshold after which the Dispenser stops working when the bleach or other disinfectant runs out.
Brief description of the drawings.
Advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art with the benefit of the following detailed description of embodiments and upon reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figures 1 and 2 show the top and side section views of a standard toilet seat/lid arrangement respectively according to existing prior art in the field of present invention and give context to the present invention;
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are side section views of the Enhance Toilet seat/lid and Dispenser installed on a Flush toilet bowl according to the present invention;
Figures 6a and 6b are top views of the different embodiments with respect to the storage
Bleach/Disinfectant for the enhanced toilet seat Lid and dispenser with embodiment 6a having a reservoir within the toilet seat lid while 6a highlights external and peripheral receptacles of bottles of bleach/disinfectant according to the present invention;
Figure 7, 8 and 9 are side views of the Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid and Dispenser fitted to the toilet bowl depicting a fully opened toilet seat lid and partially opened toilet seat for different toilet seat lid shape, size and volume according to the present invention;
Figure 10, shows a section view of a enhanced toilet seal lid and dispenser with minimal components resting on the toilet seat bowl, and the toilet seat lid is same as standard seat lid in size according to the present invention;
Figure 11, shows a section view of a enhanced toilet seal lid and dispenser resting on the toilet seat bowl, and the toilet seat lid is slightly raised in comparison to one shown in figure 10 according to the present invention;
Figure 12a, shows a section view of a stand-alone dispenser assembly for retrofitting to a standard toilet seat lid according to the present invention;
Figure 12b, shows a section view of a stand-alone dispenser retrofitted to the toilet seat/lid assembly and are depicted resting on the toilet seat bowl;
Figure 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, and 13e is a semi-exploded section view of figure 10, 11, 12b, 14 and 15 with the only difference being the shape of the top of the toilet seat lid, and show more embodiments of the present invention highlighting the dispenser and rotary mechanisms;
Figure 16 is a section view of another embodiment of the enhanced toilet seal lid and dispenser depicting a different dispense mechanism assembly;
Figure 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d and 17e together make up a semi exploded section view of another embodiment as shown in figure 16 of the present invention highlighting a different dispense mechanism assembly;
Figure 18 is a section view of another embodiment of the enhanced toilet seal lid and dispenser depicting a different dispense mechanism assembly;
Figure 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d and 19e together make up a semi exploded section view of another embodiment as shown in figure 18 of the present invention highlighting a different dispense mechanism assembly;
Figure 20 shows the system block diagram showing how the electronic components talk to the Main Control Board and the reverse in order to achieve the functionality of the present invention;
While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. The drawings may not be to scale. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims .
Detailed Description of The Preferred Embodiments.
Illustrative embodiments of the toilet seat lid and dispenser of the present invention are provided below. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions will be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure .
The device use will be understood, both as to its structure and operation, from the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanying description. Several embodiments of the system are presented herein. It should be understood that various components, parts, and features of the different embodiments may be combined together and/or interchanged with one another, all of which are within the scope of the present application, even though not all variations and particular embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should also be understood that the mixing and matching of features, elements, and/or functions between various embodiments is expressly contemplated herein so that one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate from this disclosure that the features, elements, and/or functions of one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment as appropriate, unless described otherwise.
The preferred embodiment herein described is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described to explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to enable others skilled in the art to follow its teachings .
It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms a, an, and the include singular and plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several views, figure 1 and 2 depict two views of the standard toilet seat/lid to give context to the present invention and will build a basis for all the enhancements that embody the present invention. Following on from figure 2 are figures 3, 4 and 5 which show the different toilet seat lid styles 71, 81 and 91 as just a few of all possible embodiments of the toilet seat lid as it migrates from just a seat lid in functionality and construction to become a chassis which extends below and above a standard toilet seat lid top and bottom surfaces. Shown in all the 3 figures is how the enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser chassis sits with respect to the toilet seat and flash toilet bowl. Motion sensors 107 employing Infra-red technology or any other suitable kind as to achieve the detection of a human in the proximity of the seat lid and dispenser are shown in figures 3, 4 and 5. Human detection stops the automated processes from going ahead as planned until no human presence has been detected. Motorised hinge assembly 75 is also shown in figures 3, 4 and 5 and this allows the Seat lid/dispenser and lid to automatically transition as depicted in figures 7, 8 and 9 from vertical and to horizontal on demand.
Figure 6a shows the general top view layout for the embodiment where the reservoir is within the toilet seat lid while figure 6b highlights an embodiment in which there is no reservoir within the toilet seat but there are separately mounted receptacles for bottles of bleach a silicone tubing or plastic piping or suitable rust proof metal piping connects the receptacle to the toilet seat lid/dispenser. Also shown is how a receiving chamber takes in the incoming bleach and becomes a temporary transit point from which a pump locally draws and pumps the bleach/disinfectant dispense nozzles on demand. Control Unit 79 with a keypad and display panel is fixed to the cistern by any suitable means, provide a local means of interacting with the toilet seat lid/dispenser. Control panel can be mounted in any convenient place including being embedded in the toilet seat lid/dispenser.
Figures 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d and 13e show an enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser 100 according to the one embodiment of the present invention. The enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser 100 in figure 13a, is primarily a singular main chassis made up of what is normally a standard toilet seat lid 103 with the lower side of the lid extending lower into the toilet seat opening 107 and beyond, while leaving an even clearance 108 with the toilet seat inner perimeter, right round.
The lower surface area of the standard toilet seat lid 103 of figure 13a as projected into the toilet seat opening and within a few millimetres of the inner perimeter of toilet seat, to allow for clearance is extruded downwards 101 into the toilet seat opening and beyond to just about the level of the lower inside rim of the toilet bowl. The extruded volume made up of 104, 105 and 106 as shown in figure 13a to within a couple of millimetres to the side walls is mostly hollow extending all the way up into the standard toilet seat lid above. The surface 186 of figure 13e subtending the extruded volume is removable.
The whole extruded volume is divided by a solid mid-section 105 into an upper chamber 104 and lower chamber 106. Solid mid-section 105 provides a supporting base for multiple subchambers 116, 117 and 118. The sub-chambers' heights extend to the top and removable cover 102. The upper chamber 104,also using solid mid-section 105 as a base and extending up into what was the original standard toilet seat lid 103, becomes an embedded Reservoir 104/3 and is structurally reinforced for strength and structural integrity. Situated on top of the removable cover of the Upper chamber is the refill opening 113 and plug 114. The Upper Chamber 104/3 of figure 13a has water tight sub-chambers 116, 117 and 118 within itself. Subchambers 116 houses a motor 150 of Figure 13c while in subchamber 118 is a pump 270 of figure 9b. Upper Chamber 104/3 also has recesses 123 and 126 from the lower Chamber.
Sub-chamber 117 optimally or centrally positioned with a base 124 that is a part of mid-section 105 as shown in figure 13a provides an anchor 124 for the thrust bearing assembly 140 of figure 9d that couples the Dispense mechanism assembly 160 of Figure 9e to the solid mid-section of the main chassis of the enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser. The Dispense mechanism assembly 160 is secured to the thrust bearing assembly by use of a bolt 141 and nut 142 via a C or cup shaped bracket 145.
The C or cup shaped bracket is also an enclosure with enough room for a stepper or servo motor 164.
Sub-chamber 116 in upper chamber has a through hole, through which the shaft of motor 150 of figure 13c, accesses recess 123. The motor 150 in sub-chamber 116 drives the dispense mechanism assembly 160 via a gear 151 at the end of its shaft. The Dispense Mechanism assembly 160 has a cylindrical top 164 whose inside vertical wall has teeth to couple to the gear 151 of motor 150 and hence rotates about the central vertical axis of the thrust bearing 144.
Sub-chamber 118 in the upper chamber 104 is situated on top of another small chamber 127. Chambers 118 and 127 are conjoined by a hole through which a pump 190 of figure 13b draws the bleach/disinfectant and pumps it into silicon tubing 191 of figure 13b and into tubing 169 embedded in the dispense arms 170 of figure 13e and terminating into a nozzle 171 at the end of each of the Dispenser arms.
Within the Lower chamber 106 lies the dispense mechanism assembly 160 and the thrust bearing assembly 140. The dispense mechanism assembly 160 of figure 13e comprises of a drive stepper or servo motor 164 mounted on top of a mounting member 161. Mounting member has an open cylindrical top 163 whose inside vertical wall has teeth to couple to the gear 241 of motor 240 and hence rotates about the central vertical axis of the Thrust bearing 144 and in the middle of the cylindrical top is a depression with a base onto which the stepper/servo motor 164 is mounted. The base of same depression has a through hole for the shaft 165 of motor 164 and at the end of the motor shaft 165, a gear 184 is mounted.
Gear 184 on the shaft of motor 164 together with the subassembly on the lower side of the mounting member constitute a rack and pinion arrangement that converts the rotary motion of the stepper or servo motor 164 to a linear back and forth motion of 2 counter directional racks 181 and 185. Two more gears 182 on each side of gear 184 provide additional support and help make the operation of the rack and pinion smoother. One end of each rack is linked to opposite dispense arm 170 via a pin and circlip pivot point 167.
Further up at the end of the dispense arm, is another pivot pin and circlip anchoring point 169 to a stabiliser arm 168 that also pivots on another pin and circlip point 167 on the mounting member 161. The 3 pivot points give the dispense arm a smooth back and forth swinging motion from the rack and pinion mechanism drive hence the motion of each rack uniformly transfers its linear motion to an outward or inward swing of the dispense arms 170. The silicon tubing 191 from the pump 190 is connected to the dispense arms 170 at point 192 on each arm. The dispense arm 170 has a cylindrical core or has a silicon tubing mounted thereon. The ends of the arms have a nozzle termination that is passive (always open) or is active so as to open and close electro-mechanically.
Multiple sensors located on and or in toilet seat lid and dispenser enable it to be aware of its environment and know its current internal state thus can be initialised to start from a set state. Bleach/Disinfectant Level sensor 138 of figure 13a, inside the reservoir enable the device to know how much bleach the reservoir contains. Device will alert user by a messaging facility incorporated in its functionality and also some light emitting diode are used to signal impending depletion of Bleach/Disinfectant thus enabling timely refill. Located on each Dispense mechanism arm 170 as shown in figure 9e of the enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser, just by the nozzle 172 are two reflective sensors 173 and 174 which provide the system with the awareness of arm position, either fully swung out or pulled back in. Another set of sensors 108 and 109 as shown in figure 13a, situated on top of the toilet seat lid and one on each side detect if the toilet seat is fully up and thus in a toilet seat open state or seat lid is horizontal thus on the toilet seat thus in the toilet seat closed state respectively. Also incorporated round the front edge of the toilet seat lid and dispenser are infra-red sensors 107 of figure 13a that detect the presence of a person in the proximity of the toilet seat lid and dispenser there by making the system not actuate and start it's programmed sequence of operation until a set time after the person is out of range thus making the environment, safe to operate. The dispense mechanism's home position is known to the system from more sensors 130, 132, 134 and 136 of figure 13a that track the rotation and allows the system to know when to reverse direction thereby enabling device to dispense Bleach as efficiently as possible.
The hinge mechanism of the present invention is motorised with stepper or servo motor 119 of figure 13a one either as a single motor or dual motor arrangement facilitates the automatic transition of the enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser from a vertical position(open toilet seat lid) to the horizontal position(Closed Toilet Seat Lid).
Figures 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d and 17e and figures 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d and 19e show an enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser 200 and 300 according to two embodiments of the present invention respectively. Embodiment 200 differs only in how the dispense arms are actuated to how that is implemented in the embodiment 300 and those differences will be described here. The rest of the components are accordingly treated in the description for embodiment 300. All parts with the same reference number as described in embodiment are to be treated as serving the same purpose and thus constructed similarly and as such, are one and the same.
The dispense arm in embodiment 200 is constructed as part of a lead screw slide 267 or retrofitted to a slider 267 to achieve the desired travel of the arm/nozzle fitting to the dispense position and back to home position after dispensing the bleach/disinfectant. Arrangement is shown in figure 19e. A guiding bracket or frame 278 is also mounted onto each stepper or servo motor body to allow the slider to sit steadily at any point on the lead screw thereby maintaining the arm/nozzle at the correct alignment for correct and accurate dispensing of bleach/disinfectant. Sensors 276 is mounted near the motor and sensor 277 is on the far end of the guiding frame. Sensor 277 will detect the presence of the nozzle fitting at the dispense position thus telling the system to shutdown the dispense arm motor drive while 266 detects the presence of the arm/nozzle fitting at the set home position triggering the stopping of the motors 365.
Figures 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d and 17e show an enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser 300 according to the embodiment 300 of the present invention. Similar to the embodiment 100 of the present invention the Dispenser is constituted as a singular module 300 of figure 19c. The lower side of the lid extends lower into the toilet seat opening and beyond, while leaving an even clearance with the toilet seat inner perimeter, right round.
Figure 18c of the 3rd embodiment 300 shows surfaces 301, 302, 303 and what was the original base 304 of a standard toilet seat lid, enclosing a vertically enlarged toilet seat lid. The original base 304, is shown to project downwards from the outer edges and right round the lower side of seat lid as to follow the curvature of the inner circumference of toilet seat opening. The toilet seat will normally sit bellow the supporting studs 320 shown in figure 19c. As shown from figure 10c, surface 306 and 307 and all the way round curving downwards and continuing down, surfaces 308 and 309 vertically maintaining a good distance from toilet seat opening and actual toilet bowl inner rim perimeter. Original base 304 projects onto new base surface 310, but 310 is removable and has slots covered by a flap that will open and close.
The whole new volume enclosed by the surfaces 301, 302, 303, 306, 307, 308, 309 and 310 of figure 19c, constitute the complete chassis of the 3rd embodiment of the enhanced toilet seat lid and dispenser. The complete chassis is internally divided by a stronger and thicker partition 305 to yield an upper chamber 312 and lower chamber 311 as shown in figure 19c. Both top 301 and bottom 310 surfaces are open and top edge is lined with vertically elongated strips 313, that will clip into the lid that covers the chassis of figure 19c.
Upper chamber of chassis of figure 19c has enough room to house a reservoir 315 of bleach/disinfectant shown in figure 19b. Reservoir 301 fits snugly into upper chamber of chassis. Reservoir has a mini-partition, bottom middle and the supports the pump in figure 19a. To the Left and right of the mini partition but below the slanted base of the Reservoir are two chambers that allow for the inclusion of stepper or servo motor assemblies 340 as shown in fig 19c. Reservoir and chassis are both symmetrical about a central vertical imaginary line. Reservoir in figure 19b is self supporting when fitted in the upper chassis. With the reservoir in the upper chamber, the top cover and pump assembly will fit above chassis there by providing a water tight seal around reservoir as lid click into place with proper aligning of locking clips 313 on top edge of chassis and corresponding receptacles on bottom edge of cover.
The enhanced toilet seat Lid and Dispenser is a two motion action device in which each of the dispense arms 374 swing out to dispense position and swing back in, to the rest or home position on a pivot and the whole Dispense mechanism assembly 360 rotates clockwise and counter-clockwise while the device is dispensing bleach/disinfectant. To facilitate the Rotary action, is a thrust bearing assembly 330 that is mounted on to a supporting bracket 335 and the bracket 335 is mounted on the
Dispense mechanism assembly 360. Bearing assembly is also secured to the middle supporting section 305, about the optimum or central vertical axis of the chassis as shown in figure 19c by the bolt 333 and nut 334.
Dispense mechanism assembly 360 rotates about the central vertical axis of the trust bearing and the drive for that rotation comes from either one or two motors 350 depending on configuration. In the 3rd embodiment of the present invention, 2 motors 350 are shown and each in its respective position.
Thrust bearing assembly 340 is constituted as follows, thrust bearing 341 sandwiched between two sets of a pair of washers 342 and these are further sandwiched between the Dispense mechanism assembly mounting bracket 345 and the middle support section 305 of the chassis as shown in figure 19c. Securing these in place and ensuring smooth rotation is a bolt 343 and nylon nut 344 to ensure good grip.
The dispense mechanism assembly 360 of figure 19e showcases a mounting member 361 for the dispense arm actuation or drive motors 364. Motors 365 are mounted centrally as shown in figure 19e or off centre depending on configuration. A pivot pin 364 and circlip provide a pivot point or axial support for the motors to swing about while driving each of the dispense arms 340 into dispense position or back to home position. Above the mounting member is the mounting bracket 345 secured to member by screws/bolts 346.
Extending from the centre of mounting member 361 where motors 365 are mounted is a post 363 that extend downwards, at the end of which the chassis base plate/cover 380 is mounted and secured with a screw 377. The chassis base plate 380 has slots that are covered by a plate 381 which opens and closes under solenoid 382 control. Base plate 380 and slot cover plate 381 keep the dispense arms safely and neatly tucked away inside the main chassis lower chamber 311 of figure 19c. The chassis base plate leaves just enough clearance from the lower chamber walls 308 and 309 to allow free rotation as it is fitted to the dispense mechanism assembly.
Mounted at the end of the post 363 just before chassis base plate of figure 19e are sensors 376 that indicate to the control board that the arms have swung back to the home position and thus signal that the motors 365 should stop driving. Another set of sensors 325 as shown in figure 19a, situated on top of the toilet seat lid and one on each side detect if the toilet seat is fully up and thus in a toilet seat open state and sensor 321 below the toilet seat lid just by the seat supporting studs 320 and detect if seat lid is horizontal thus on the toilet seat and in the toilet seat closed state respectively. Also incorporated round the left, front and right edges of the toilet seat lid and dispenser are infra-red sensors 331 that detect the presence of a person in the proximity of the toilet seat lid and dispenser there by making the system not actuate and start it's programmed sequence of operation until a set time after the person is out of range thus making the environment, safe to operate. The sensors make the toilet seat lid and dispenser aware of its environment and know its current state thus can be initialised to start from a set state.
Further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as examples of embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims .
Claims (20)
1. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet seat Lid/dispenser realised from a chassis(main body) into which multiple components are fitted and configured to realise a device which:
Has dual functionality as a toilet seat lid and dispenser of bleach/disinfectant into the flush toilet bowl;
Has a Main Control Board(Main Logic Board),
Input/Output(10) Board, WiFi/Bluetooth(Wireless Communication Board), Wired Communication Board, Display Panel and Keypad, Connector board, Driver Boards, Power Supply Board or Power Supply Unit, Stepper/Servo Motors, Pump/s, Sensors and all wiring;
Dispenses Bleach/Disinfectant into the Flush Toilet Bowl from a reservoir embedded within the enhanced toilet seat lid/dispenser chassis(main body);
Dispenses Bleach/Disinfectant into the Flush Toilet Bowl from a dedicated and structurally separate reservoir fitted in the top chamber of the enhanced toilet seat lid/dispenser chassis(main body);
Dispenses Bleach/Disinfectant into the Flush Toilet Bowl from a peripheral receptacle onto which a bottle of bleach/disinfectant is mounted;
Controls the cistern and/or other peripheral systems using a wired or wireless connection;
Interact with a user directly and/or using a wired or wireless peripheral Control Unit(Human Machine Interface(HMI);
Wirelessly interacts with the user using a dedicated remote control unit;
Interacts with a user from a Smartphone;
Interacts with the user over a wired or wirelessly networked Computer and/or over the internet;
Automatically raises and/or lowers itself(toilet seat lid) from and/or onto a lowered toilet seat and flash toilet bowl using a single or dual motorised hinge mechanism;
Automatically raises and/or lowers the toilet seat from and/or onto the flash toilet bowl using a single or dual motorised hinge mechanism;
Has a Motorized bi-directional rotary mechanism;
Has a rack and pinion or gear and belt/chain coupled or worm screw and slider or pneumatic and or hydraulic cylinder driven dispense arm/s mechanism assembly;
Has multiple sensors on the external body and within itself;
Automatically adjusts the dispense mechanism so that the enhanced toilet seat lid/dispenser dispenses efficiently in toilet bowls of all shapes and sizes.
Has a thrust bearing frame assembly mounted on the dispense mechanism mounting member and is coupled centrally onto the lower side of mid-section partition of the chassis(main body)
2. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid/dispenser of Claim 1, wherein the chassis(main body) of claim 1 is primarily made up of either:
A standard toilet seat lid or a standard toilet seat lid with a hollow interior or a standard toilet seat lid with recesses or internal channels or toilet seat lid which has partially or completely raised perimeter and top i.e. the volume is vertically enlarged from that of standard toilet seat lid to achieve a capacity for greater volume and is coupled or attached from below, to a lower body which extends through the toilet seat opening and into the toilet bowl to a depth matching or about that of the inner rim of toilet bowl;
The base or whole of either of the toilet seat lids and the lower body, referred to in the first part of this claim, are realised in one form and not as separable attachment ;
The standard toilet seat lid is cut out from the centre or other optimal point and through the derived hole, a stand-alone dispense system with own peripheral devices is retrofitted thus a toilet seat lid and dispenser is derived.
3. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid/dispenser of Claim 1, wherein the chassis(main body) of claim 1 is realised wherein:
The toilet seat lid, in standard form or raised perimeter and top form, as referred in the second part of claim 2, is internally hollow with a thin outer shell and is cut open horizontally in the middle to yield two identical sections, a bottom section and top section(cover/lid);
Leaving a few millimetres clearance from toilet seat opening perimeter and larger clearance from the top inside wall of toilet bowl to the bottom or the rim, the base of the bottom section, previous part of this claim 4, is extruded down into the toilet seat opening and into the toilet bowl to a depth matching that of the inner rim of toilet bowl to yield the outer frame element of chassis(main body);
The resulting shape of the outer frame element of chassis(main body) is almost similar to a turned over straw hat, the base of this first extrusion is either cut out or is retained and selectively and partially extruded back up from around the inner rim of toilet bowl while still in place;
The retained base of the first extrusion(outer frame element) is selectively and partially extruded back up from around the inner rim of toilet bowl towards the toilet seat in a second extrusion process and together with the first extrusion process creates an outer frame element which has within itself the lower side of the midsection partition already part of the outer frame element of the chassis(main body);
If the base of the first extrusion is cut out as mentioned above, a matching flat plate is selectively and partially extruded back up from the bottom edge of the first extrusion element from the above process to yield a second extrusion element;
Another flat plate matching the top opening of the first extrusion element is selectively and partially extruded down into the first extrusion(outer frame) element in a third extrusion process, creating the upper side(third extrusion element) of the midsection to be formed together with the second extrusion element to partition the chassis(main body);
The first extrusion element(outer Frame element), the second extrusion element (lower side of midsection) and third extrusion element(upper extrusion element of midsection) will fit together to creating a double open ended chassis for the toilet seat lid/dispenser.
A bonding process will ensure that all the elements are permanently fused into one strong double open ended chassis;
Combined outer frame element and lower side of midsection and together with the third extrusion element(upper side of midsection, will form a similar double open ended chassis as realised for the 3 separate extruded elements above;
Again, a bonding process will ensure that all the elements are permanently fused into one strong double open ended chassis;
The double open ended chassis realised either way, have an upper/top main chamber and a lower/bottom main chamber separated by the midsection supporting partition002C with portions of the top part of the midsection extruded into mini chambers within the upper/top main chamber, with full height as to engage with the top cover of the new assembly, and sections of the bottom side of the mid-section having recesses of varying depths;
The cover/lid yielded from the horizontal cut above and with a suitable sealing medium and means, fits back to enclose the upper/top main chamber which then becomes an embedded reservoir and/or becomes a housing for a dedicated and structurally separate reservoir or a receiving chamber which is a transit point for the bleach/disinfectant;
The lower/bottom chamber and within recesses on the midsection underside houses the dispense mechanism assembly and the rotary drive assemblies;
4. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid/dispenser of Claim 1, wherein the chassis(main body) of claim 1 is realised wherein:
A standard toilet seat lid, referred to in the third part of claim 2, is used as a base onto which a cylindrical style stand-alone system is mounted;
A hole is cut out of the standard toilet seat lid so the retrofitted stand-alone system will reach low enough into the flush toilet bowl for the dispense mechanism to be suitably and optimally positioned for efficient dispense of bleach/disinfectant;
The cylindrical or oval or other toilet bowl matching shape style stand-alone system has the extruded elements of claim 2 for its chassis or same structure realised from plastic mould injection process or other process as to achieve the same double open ended chassis(main body) and either has an embedded reservoir or dedicated structurally separate and recessed reservoir or no reservoir but feeds from an external and peripheral receptacle and each of the reservoir variations, and all the complimentary components of the full system.
5. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid/dispenser of Claim 1, wherein the chassis(main body) of claim 1 is realised wherein:
In standard form, as referred to in the second part of claim2, has neither an embedded reservoir nor a reservoir mounted within it but system has an external and peripheral receptacle for a bottle of bleach/disinfectant;
The receptacle is mounted at a convenient distance from the toilet seat lid, on the toilet bowl, on the Cistern or on the wall or some convenient place;
Silicone tubing or Plastic piping or stainless steel tubing from the receptacle will pass through recesses within the seat lid to the dispense mechanism within an enclosure on the underside of the seat lid;
6. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat Lid/dispenser of Claim 1, wherein the chassis(main body) of claim 1 is realised wherein:
Based on the standard toilet seat lid has both a raised perimeter and top i.e. the volume is vertically enlarged from that of standard toilet seat lid to achieve a capacity for greater volume;
The enclosed space in enlarged volume in the first part of this claim, and/or upper/top main chamber of the extruded chassis, forms a hollow chamber to in itself become an embedded Reservoir with a structurally reinforced wall and top for strength and structural integrity or a dedicated, structurally separate and recessed reservoir is fitted into the hollow chamber within the said increased volume of toilet seat lid/dispenser assembly.
7. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Lid/dispenser of claim 1, wherein the combined assembly(Chassis/main body) is extruded from sheet metal or is moulded out of plastic or realised from other fabrication techniques or manufacturing processes other such material for strength and integrity.
8. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Lid/dispenser of claim 1, wherein the upper/top main chamber as referred to in the eleventh part of claim 3, is in itself a reservoir with recesses and or mini chambers, into which a stepper/servo motor/s, washer pump and electronic valve are all fitted and are other complementary components and wiring.
9. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid) of claim
1, wherein there is a receptacle or receptacles for a bottle or bottles of bleach/disinfectant mounted on the toilet bowl or on the cistern or any other convenient point(wall etc) and the receptacle is connected to the toilet seat lid by silicone tubing, plastic/metal tubing and a pump may optionally be fitted to the receptacle/s.
10. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid) of claim
1, wherein the Reservoir of claim 1 is made from rubber, plastic, anti-corrosion sheet metal or any other material that is light, strong and resistant to corrosion from the bleach to be contained therein and the reservoir is recessed to allow for the incorporation of the servo or stepper motor, washer pump and or solenoid actuator.
11. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid) of claim
1, wherein the Wired and/or Wireless Communication Receiver/Transmitter of claim 1 allows the flush toilet seat lid to trigger the flushing of the cistern to wet and rinse out the flush toilet bowl before and after dispensing of bleach or other disinfectant respectively and further to the above, the Wireless Communication Receiver/Transmitter also allows the toilet seat lid to communicate with a wireless remote control unit and/or Smartphone Application so as to allow User/Dispenser interaction and Dispenser to User Status Notifications .
12. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid) of claim 1, wherein the dispense mechanism of claim 1 is a system of stepper/servo motor rack and pinion driven pivoted arms or pneumatic cylinder driven pivot arms or other motion translation setup to actuate a system of arms or dual stepper/servo motors with worm screw shafts and sliders that are either connected to pivoted arms or arms that move linearly with the sliders and dispense tubing and/or piping are mounted on or embedded in the arms before which silicone tubing or plastic piping from the pump and whose ends are insitu or interchangeable nozzle termination are mounted.
13. Motorized bi-directional mechanism (plastic/metal) in claim 2 to move the nozzles from their home position in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions while dispensing bleach around the inside wall of and into the Flush Toilet.
14. Electric pump of claim 1 to pump bleach from reservoir into the pipes/tubes and out via the nozzles onto the inside walls of and into the Flush Toilet.
15. Bleach Level Sensors in claim 2 to determine the amount of bleach in reservoir so that critical low levels of bleach or other disinfectant are relayed to the user via the controller.
16. Seat cover Position Sensor 1 and 2 to actuate the motorised hinge mechanism when toilet seat cover has been left in a vertical position and to stop driving motorised hinge mechanism when the seat cover is horizontal above the Flush Toilet.
17. Obstruction Sensors to stop and reverse the motorised mechanism in the event of any kind of obstruction being detected in the path of the toilet seat cover while being driven to the horizontal position.
18. Human presence Intra-red Sensor or other such sensor/s pick up such presence and notify control board so as to disable the activation of the motorised mechanisms from actuating as a safety measure.
19. An Intelligent and Enhanced Toilet Seat(Seat and Lid) of claim 1, wherein the Computer Control Board of claim 1, controls all functionality of the intelligent and enhanced toilet seat lid/dispenser, receive and interprets signals coming from various Sensors, controls the motorised bi-directional rotary mechanism (claim 2) and the motorised hinged mechanism(Assembly)(Claim 2), controls the amount of bleach to dispense (default(set by manufacturer) or user set), amount of pressure with which to dispense and the duration of each dispense cycle and manages communication with other devices as it listens for incoming commands from user and sends requests to the Cistern and other devices(User's mobile phone or other remote control transmitter/receiver(transceiver) with Alerts and status reports).
20. Has Data Storage and interfaces for Input/Output Board and or Display ( LCD MATRIX or touch screen), Keypad(for non-touch screen display) and Wired or Wireless Communication receiver/transmitter.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB1809067.0A GB2574273A (en) | 2018-06-02 | 2018-06-02 | Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB1809067.0A GB2574273A (en) | 2018-06-02 | 2018-06-02 | Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB201809067D0 GB201809067D0 (en) | 2018-07-18 |
GB2574273A true GB2574273A (en) | 2019-12-04 |
Family
ID=62872869
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB1809067.0A Withdrawn GB2574273A (en) | 2018-06-02 | 2018-06-02 | Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
GB (1) | GB2574273A (en) |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3988788A (en) * | 1975-12-29 | 1976-11-02 | Karl Aue | Device for cleaning a toilet |
US4216553A (en) * | 1977-05-12 | 1980-08-12 | Walter Haberle | Toilet with folding lid |
WO1999063877A1 (en) * | 1998-06-11 | 1999-12-16 | Kuyus-Stiftung | Dosing device for liquids in toilet bowls |
GB2373257A (en) * | 2001-03-16 | 2002-09-18 | Dennis Augustus Gillespie | Lavatory apparatus having cleaning fluid dispensing assembly actuated by toilet lid |
WO2008024005A2 (en) * | 2006-08-23 | 2008-02-28 | Bernstein Research Limited | A toilet and associated apparatuses |
US8011051B1 (en) * | 2008-09-26 | 2011-09-06 | Ba-Akeel Omar A | Toilet bowl cleaning assembly |
-
2018
- 2018-06-02 GB GB1809067.0A patent/GB2574273A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3988788A (en) * | 1975-12-29 | 1976-11-02 | Karl Aue | Device for cleaning a toilet |
US4216553A (en) * | 1977-05-12 | 1980-08-12 | Walter Haberle | Toilet with folding lid |
WO1999063877A1 (en) * | 1998-06-11 | 1999-12-16 | Kuyus-Stiftung | Dosing device for liquids in toilet bowls |
GB2373257A (en) * | 2001-03-16 | 2002-09-18 | Dennis Augustus Gillespie | Lavatory apparatus having cleaning fluid dispensing assembly actuated by toilet lid |
WO2008024005A2 (en) * | 2006-08-23 | 2008-02-28 | Bernstein Research Limited | A toilet and associated apparatuses |
US8011051B1 (en) * | 2008-09-26 | 2011-09-06 | Ba-Akeel Omar A | Toilet bowl cleaning assembly |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB201809067D0 (en) | 2018-07-18 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
JP6961734B2 (en) | Self-flush toilet assembly and system | |
WO2009105417A1 (en) | Modular cartridge based liquid dispenser system for toilets and bidets | |
JP6885933B2 (en) | Self-cleaning toilet assembly and system | |
CN108086432B (en) | Concealed sanitary toilet | |
ITTO20000300A1 (en) | DEVICE DISPENSER OF WASHING AGENTS FOR A DOMESTIC WASHING MACHINE, IN PARTICULAR A DISHWASHER. | |
RU2009121823A (en) | SUCTION SYSTEM FOR TOILETS | |
GB2574273A (en) | Enhanced toilet seat lid and automated bleach/disinfectant dispenser for the flush toilet bowl | |
EP2951362B1 (en) | Cleaning system for toilets | |
KR101588426B1 (en) | An apparatus for preparing the water drawing in the chamber pot | |
US5022097A (en) | Automated toilet seat cleaning system | |
KR20060125668A (en) | The structure of toilet with accomplishing for spraying of detergent and opening and shutting for the lower part of toilet and the control method thereof | |
CN110080360A (en) | Closet flushing device and its auto-flushing trigger mechanism | |
CN216616118U (en) | Flushing system, pre-flushing system, retrofit kit and sanitary fixture | |
CN112545345A (en) | Multifunctional automatic cover-changing toilet lid | |
CN212200639U (en) | Intelligent rotary platform for washroom | |
JP4927666B2 (en) | Simple bathing device | |
CN105386492A (en) | Intelligent closestool | |
RU80863U1 (en) | WC WITH TURNING CUP | |
WO1990004347A1 (en) | Automated toilet seat cleaning system | |
CN219033445U (en) | Toilet device | |
CN216393928U (en) | Intelligent disinfection type toilet lid | |
KR20190015841A (en) | A urinal with a door opening | |
WO2000055438A9 (en) | Hand-held bidet and method of use | |
JP2968401B2 (en) | Chemical supply device for flush toilet | |
KR102000232B1 (en) | Toilet bowl |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |