Toilet seat mounting box

Abstract: A toilet seat mounting box (2) for mounting on the rear part of the top of a toilet includes a nozzle (3) for spraying washing water onto the buttocks of a user of the toilet and a water flow valve (8) for adjusting the flow of water supplied to the nozzle. The mounting box has a projecting part (2a) on one side which projects towards the front of the toilet. A washing strength adjusting rotor (9) for operating the water flow adjustment valve is located on the side of the said projecting part, and a shaft (9a) rotated by the rotor is mechanically connected to the water flow adjustment valve by gears (10).

Description: This invention relates to a toilet seat mounting box for mounting on the top of a toilet, incorporating washing apparatus for washing the buttocks of a user with a spray of warm water. In a known toilet incorporating a warm water washing device, as shown in Fig. 2, a toilet seat mounting box 52 is mounted at the rear of a toilet seat 51. Inside the box 52 is a warm water tank 53, and in front of that a washing nozzle 54, arranged so that washing water can be sprayed from the nozzle 54 onto the buttocks of the user. To adjust the amount of warm water sprayed from the nozzle 54, a washing strength adjusting rotor 55 is fitted on top of a side part of the box 52, projecting upwards. Reference numeral 56 designates a toilet lid. Thus, in this prior art apparatus, because the washing strength adjusting rotor 55 projects from the top of the toilet seat mounting box, it detracts from the outward appearance of the toilet. One proposed solution to this problem is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. H3-5078 in the name of the present applicant. This application discloses a toilet seat mounting box for attachment to the rear part of a toilet seat, containing a washing nozzle and a water flow adjustment valve to adjust the flow of water supplied to the nozzle, and in which a washing strength adjusting rotor, by means of which the water flow valve can be adjusted, is fitted to the side of the box. However, in positioning such parts inside a toilet seat mounting box, in some cases it is necessary to position the said rotor some distance away from the water flow adjustment valve. In such a case, it is then necessary to transmit the motion of the rotor reliably to the water flow valve. When, as shown in Fig. 2, the mounting box includes a projecting part, projecting toward the front of the toilet, on one side of the box, and which is tapered such that its vertical depth decreases toward the front of the toilet, then because the internal volume of the forward end of such projecting part is small, the water flow adjustment valve cannot be mounted inside such end of the projecting part. On the other hand, positioning the rotor as close as possible to the forward end of this projecting part facilitates its use by a user sitting on the toilet seat. For these reasons the provision of such a tapered projecting part leads to the positioning of the rotor and the water flow adjustment valve at a distance from each other, and a reliable mechanical connection between them then becomes necessary. According to the present invention there is provided a toilet seat mounting box for mounting on the top of a toilet, the said box having a projecting part disposed on one side thereof and arranged to project towards the front of the toilet in use, and the box incorporating: a washing nozzle for spraying washing water onto the buttocks of a user of the toilet; an adjustable water flow valve for adjusting the flow of water supplied to the washing nozzle; a washing strength adjusting rotor disposed on the laterally facing outer side of said projecting part of the box for adjusting said water flow valve; a rotary shaft connected to said washing strength adjusting rotor; and gear means for transmitting the rotation of said rotor to said water flow valve. In a preferred form of the invention the said projecting part of the box is tapered so that its vertical depth decreases toward the forward end thereof, and the above-mentioned rotor is located near to this end. As a result the said projecting part is inconspicuous, and this contributes to an improvement in the appearance of the toilet seat mounting box. It is also preferred that the said rotary shaft comprises two parts, one of which has a plug portion projecting axially from the main body thereof and the other of which has a corresponding socket into which the projecting plug portion slidably fits. This enables thermal expansion and contraction of the toilet seat box and the said shaft, and dimensional errors, to be tolerated. As the said washing strength adjusting rotor is fitted so that it projects from the side of the toilet seat mounting box, the said rotor is in an unobtrusive position, and the toilet seat mounting box can thus be given a neat appearance, with no protrusions on its top. Furthermore, because the motion of the said rotor is transmitted to the water flow adjustment valve by the gear means, the said valve can be reliably operated even when spaced away from the rotor. An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is schematic plan view of a toilet seat box in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a prior art toilet seat box; and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the construction of a rotary shaft 9a of the embodiment of Fig. 1. Referring to Fig. 1, a toilet seat box 2, to which a toilet seat 1 is attached, is mounted at the rear of toilet seat 1. A washing nozzle 3 is mounted in the central part of the inside of the toilet seat box 2, and a warm air fan 4 with an outlet 4a, which blows warm air onto the buttocks of the toilet user, is mounted to one side of the nozzle 3. Warm water tank 5 is mounted in the part of the toilet seat box on the left side of the Figure, and in front of that an electromagnetic valve 6, a pressure regulator valve 7, and a water flow adjustment valve 8 are connected together in a line as one unit and mounted inside a forwardly projecting part 2a of the box 2. A rotary shaft 9a is arranged parallel to the water flow adjustment valve 8. The rotary shaft 9a extends in the direction of the width of the toilet seat 1. One end of the shaft 9a passes through the outer side wall of the toilet seat box 2 and projects outwardly from the box. A washing strength adjusting rotor 9 is fitted to this end of the shaft 9a and is thus exposed on the side of toilet seat box 2. The shaft 9a is connected by gears 10 to the water flow adjustment valve 8 so that by turning the rotor 9 by hand the water flow adjustment valve 8 may be adjusted. The projecting part 2a of the box 2 is tapered toward its top and the rotor 9 is located close to the end of the projecting part. When a washing apparatus switch is pressed, the electromagnetlc valve 6 opens to allow mains water to flow in. The water pressure is regulated to a predetermined level by the pressure regulator valve 7, the water flow is adjusted to the desired level by water flow adjustment valve 8, and the water then flows through a vacuum breaker (not shown) into the warm water tank 5. In this embodiment the washing strength adjusting rotor 9 is not positioned above the water flow adjustment valve 8 and does not project from the top of the toilet seat box 2, as it does in the prior art. Instead, the rotor 9 projects out sideways from the side of the toilet seat box 2, and is in a position in which it is not readily seen. As a result, there are no protrusions on the top surface of toilet seat box, and the external appearance of the toilet seat box as seen from above is very neat. Because the shaft 9a and the water flow adjustment valve 8 are connected by the gears 10, turning motion of the rotor 9 is accurately transmitted to the valve 8. As shown in Fig. 3, the rotary shaft 9a comprises two parts 11 and 12. At the inner end of the part 11 there is a rectangular socket 13, and at the inner end of the part 12 there is a rectangular plug 14. The plug 14 fits slidably into the socket 13 and the motion of the dial 9 is thereby transmitted to the part 12. Because of this plug and socket joint the parts 11 and 12 have some slight freedom of movement in the axial direction, and as a result thermal expansion and any dimensional errors in toilet seat box 2 and the shaft parts 11 and 12 are tolerated. The shaft part 11 is pivotally supported by a bushing 16 in toilet seat box 2 (see Fig. 1) through a stop member 15. A riblike projection 17 on the shaft part 11 projects into a concave portion 18 of the stop member 15 so that the range of rotation of the shaft part 11 is restricted to the range through which the projection 17 can move in the concave portion 18. In the toilet seat box according to this embodiment, the washing strength adjusting rotor which projects from the side of the toilet seat box is inconspicuous and the upper surface of the toilet seat box has no projections, so that the box has a neat and pleasing external appearance. Further, the rotation of the rotor can be accurately transmitted to the water flow adjusting valve. Further, the external appearance of the toilet seat box is made more attractive by tapering the projecting part toward the front end thereof. In addition, the washing strength adjusting rotor can be easily turned, even if there is thermal expansion of parts, or dimensional errors.

Claims: A toilet seat mounting box (2) for mounting on the top of a toilet, the said box having a projecting part (2a) disposed on one side thereof and arranged to project towards the front of the toilet in use, and the box incorporating: a washing nozzle (3) for spraying washing water onto the buttocks of a user of the toilet; an adjustable water flow valve (8) for adjusting the flow of water supplied to the washing nozzle; a washing strength adjusting rotor (9) disposed on the laterally facing outer side of said projecting part of the box for adjusting said water flow valve; a rotary shaft (9a) connected to said washing strength adjusting rotor; and gear means (10) for transmitting the rotation of said rotor to said water flow valve. A toilet seat mounting box according to claim 1, wherein a toilet seat (1) is pivotally attached to the said box. A toilet seat mounting box according to claim 2, wherein said rotary shaft (9a) extends in the direction of the width of the toilet seat (1). A toilet seat mounting box according to claim 3, wherein the outer end of said rotary shaft (9a) projects outside of the box and said washing strength adjusting rotor (9) is mounted to this outer end of the rotary shaft. A toilet seat mounting box according to any preceding claim, wherein the said projecting part (2a) of the box is tapered so that its vertical depth decreases towards the forward end thereof, and wherein said rotor is disposed near to this end. A toilet seat mounting box according to any preceding claim, wherein the said water flow valve (8) has an axle disposed parallel to said rotary shaft (9a). A toilet seat mounting box according to any preceding claim, wherein the said rotary shaft (9a) comprises two parts one of which has an axially projecting plug portion and the other of which has a socket into which said plug portion slidably fits. A toilet seat mounting box according to any preceding claim, wherein said gear means (10) is disposed inside the said projecting part (2a), on the toilet seat side thereof.

Inventors: IGUCHI MASAHIRO C O INAX CORPO, IGUCHI, MASAHIRO, C/O INAX CORPORATION
Applicants: INAX CORP, INAX CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E03D9
IPC codes: E03D9