Abstract:
The present invention provides a sanitary cleaning device or apparatus that includes a basin, a temperature controller, and a flow controller. The temperature controller supplies water at a predetermined temperature to the flow controller, while the flow controller manages the water flow to a sprayer located in the basin. The present invention also provides a flow controller connected to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer, both located in the basin. Furthermore, a water distributor may be used to divide the flow between the transversely-oscillating sprayer and the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer. A housing may be disposed on the rear portion of the rim of the basin to house the temperature controller, the flow controller, and the water distributor. The present invention may also include a cover for the basin and a sitting ring for the basin rim.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a sanitary appliance, particularly to a body purging or cleaning apparatus for cleaning a person after defecation and/or urination.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     As commonly used in bathrooms, e.g., after defecation and urination, people employ toilet paper to clean themselves. However, as individuals may themselves be infected by disease or parasites, the use of toilet paper alone is not at all sanitary. As a matter of fact, it is not satisfactorily effective to clean a human body with just toilet paper. Furthermore, discarded toilet paper could clog the drainage.  
         [0003]     A conventional cleaning or purging apparatus is set forth in Chinese utility model No. 89219065.5, entitled “A Portable Apparatus for Purging a Human Body”. As shown in  FIG. 1  of the Drawings, the cleaning apparatus therein includes a tank  1 , a sprayer  2 , a foam plastic plug  5  and a cylindrical enclosure  4 . The sprayer  2  is screwed onto the tank  1 , which is made from a flexible plastic and consists of an upper shell and a lower shell both of which are engaged or sealed tightly with each other. The sprayer  2  is inserted into the foam plastic plug or socket  5 , which is used for cleaning or rubbing the sprayer  2 . Some napkins  3  may be placed in the enclosure  4 . The tank  1  has a section shaped elliptically. Naturally, the tank  1  is used for containing water, which is often kept at a substantially constant temperature, e.g., when the tank is carried close to the body. Though the conventional cleaning apparatus of  FIG. 1  is somewhat effective in cleaning, it is still deemed generally only as a rudimentary device. Particularly, it is disadvantageous in that it is of primitive construction and cannot be used conveniently and widely. Further, there is no warm water generated for users.  
         [0004]     As people grow wealthier, more elaborate cleaning apparatuses have evolved from a so-called luxurious appliance to a routine necessity for all. With reference now to  FIG. 2  of the Drawings, there is illustrated another conventional cleaning apparatus, which includes a toilet basin  9  and a tap  7  disposed on a rear portion of the rim of the basin  9 . The more elaborate conventional cleaning apparatus is, however, nonetheless disadvantageous in that:  
         [0005]     (1) When the basin  9  is installed in a bathroom, it is usually placed against a wall. A user is then forced to seat himself on the basin facing the wall, cleaning himself by adjusting the tap, which abuts the wall. Since the tap is not disposed conveniently for front-facing use, it is awkward and inconvenient. Further, there is no mechanism for controlling the water temperature automatically.  
         [0006]     (2) Additionally, since the basin is not provided with a sanitary cover, the user is forced to seat himself directly on the rim of the potentially unclean basin to clean himself. Most users feel quite uncomfortable and perhaps disgusted, as the basin is made of a ceramic material.  
         [0007]     (3) Also, the tap  7  has a sprayer  8  mounted with a predetermined and set orientation, which is not adjustable to clean or spray in a desired direction, forcing the person to accommodate to the device&#39;s limitations.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, the present invention provides a sanitary cleaning device or apparatus that includes a basin, a temperature controller, and a flow controller. The temperature controller supplies water at a predetermined temperature to the flow controller, while the flow controller manages the water flow to a sprayer located in the basin. The present invention also provides a flow controller connected to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer, both located in the basin. The user may specify a desired water temperature by turning a handwheel connected to the temperature controller. A handwheel may also be connected to the flow controller to manage the amount of water flowing through the sprayers. Furthermore, a water distributor may be used to divide the flow between the transversely-oscillating sprayer and the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer. A housing may be disposed on the rear portion of the rim of the basin to house the temperature controller, the flow controller, and the water distributor. The present invention may also include a cover for the basin and a cushion ring for the basin rim.  
         [0009]     Additional embodiments are further defined in the specification and also set forth in the dependent claims.  
         [0010]     Compared with the prior art, the present invention is advantageous in that:  
         [0011]     (1) The cleaning apparatus is provided with an easily adjustable water-temperature controller permitting control of the output temperature by means of rotation of a handwheel. The temperature can thus be kept constant during use. Additionally, the user will seat himself or herself on the basin and face opposite to the building wall. In other words, the user will not be forced to face the wall to operate the controls. As the water temperature is set to a predetermined value, users can readily adjust and control the direction of the water flow by rotating a flow-adjusting wheel.  
         [0012]     (2) The water flow can be adjusted manually and simply by means of rotation of the flow-adjusting handwheel.  
         [0013]     (3) A water distributor distributes the water flow to a transversely-oscillating sprayer and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer so that the sprayers can direct the flow as per the user&#39;s wishes and for subsequent usage.  
         [0014]     (4) The apparatus has a cover used for keeping the basin clean and includes a cushion ring for seating a user comfortably. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  schematically illustrates the conventional cleaning device set forth in Chinese utility model No. 89219065.5;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  schematically illustrates another conventional cleaning apparatus;  
         [0017]      FIGS. 3A, 3B  and  3 C schematically illustrate a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, where  FIG. 3A  is a side cross-sectional view,  FIG. 3B  is a front cross-sectional view, and  FIG. 3C  is a top view of the present cleaning apparatus without the basin cover;  
         [0018]      FIGS. 4A, 4B  and  4 C schematically illustrate a flow controller and temperature controller according to the present invention, where  FIG. 4A  is a front cross-sectional view,  FIG. 4B  is a front view, and  FIG. 4C  is a side view of the flow controller and temperature controller of the instant invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the flow controller and temperature controller of the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a front cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]     Various aspects of the invention are described in detail in the following sections. The use of sections is not meant to limit the invention. Each section can apply to any aspect of the invention. In this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise.  
         [0022]     With reference now to  FIGS. 3A, 3B  and  3 C of the Drawings, there is illustrated a cleaning device or apparatus according to the present invention, which includes a toilet basin  9 , an adjustor  10  disposed on a rear portion of the rim of the basin  9 , a transversely-oscillating sprayer  11  mounted to a rear wall of the basin  9 , and a longitudinally-oscillating sprayer  12  mounted on the bottom thereof. The adjustor  10  has a housing  104  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) provided with two outlets connected, respectively, to the sprayers  11  and  12  via conduits, discussed further hereinbelow. The adjustor  10  includes a temperature controller, a flow controller, and a water distributor, in addition to the housing  104 . As also shown in  FIG. 5 , the aforementioned temperature controller includes a central temperature controller unit (CTU)  105  and a temperature controller handwheel  106 . The aforementioned water distributor includes a distributor valve  111 , a valve housing  112 , and a distributor pull  113 . The aforementioned flow controller includes a flow-adjusting handwheel  101 , a central flow controller unit (CFU)  102  and a valve casing  103 . The aforementioned housing  104  for the adjustor  10  includes a draining switch  15  at a side thereof, as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , which is connected to a longitudinal or elongated draining rod  14   a  engaged with a transverse draining rod  14   b , which is, in turn, anchored to a stopper mechanism  13  for closing the drainage. Therefore, a user can open or close the drainage by means of operating the draining switch  15 . The basin  9  has a cover  16 , which is preferably provided with a cushion ring for seating the user so that he or she would feel comfortable and the cleaning apparatus could be kept clean.  
         [0023]     With reference now to  FIGS. 4A, 4B ,  4 C, and  5 , the housing  104  with the temperature controller has an upper portion provided with a first receiving hole  115  bored through from the left side to the right side of the housing. The valve casing  103  is received in the first receiving hole  115 , which has a first recess  116   a  for passing the body of the valve casing  103   a  and tightly engaging the casing fitting  103   b  thereof. The valve casing  103  is hollow in that the casing body  103   a  has a casing bore  103   c . The central flow controller unit  102  includes a first fitting  102   a , a second fitting  102   b  and a valve body  102   c , which are all preferably made into a single-piece member. The valve body  102   c  is formed with a central bore  102   d  having a diameter equal to that of the casing bore. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the central flow controller unit  102  is inserted into the valve casing  103 . The second fitting  102   b  is engaged tightly with the casing fitting  103   a , and is rotatable axially in and about the casing fitting  103   a , which can change the area over which the central bore  102   d  and the casing bore  103   c  coincide with each other, so that the water flow can be adjusted. The first fitting  102   a  of the central flow controller unit  102  is connected to the flow-adjusting handwheel  101 , which drives the rotation of the central flow controller unit  102 , which changes the area over which the central bore  102   d  and the casing bore  103   c  coincide with each other for adjusting the water flow.  
         [0024]     It should be understood that a commercially-available central temperature controller unit  105  includes a hot water filter layer  105   a  for introducing a hot water stream, a cold water filter layer  105   b  for introducing a cold water stream, and an outlet  105   c  for outputting, at a predetermined temperature, a mixture of the hot water and the cold water as introduced. As shown in  FIG. 4A , the central temperature controller unit  105  is received in the receiving hole  115  of the housing  104 , which has second, third and fourth recesses  116   b ,  116   c  and  116   d  for accommodating the central temperature controller unit  105  snugly therein. Particularly, the second and third recesses  116   b  and  116   c  admit the hot water stream only to the hot water filter layer  105   a , and none of the hot water to the recess  117  and the cold water filter layer  105   b . The third and fourth recesses  116   c  and  116   d  admit the cold water stream only to the cold water filter layer  105   b . As shown further in  FIG. 4A , the central temperature controller  105  is located on the right side of the valve casing  103 . The central temperature controller  105  and the valve casing  103  are not in direct contact, and the recess  117  is sandwiched therebetween. A hot water passage  114   b  is provided under the hot water filter layer  105   a  of the housing  104 , while a cold water passage  114   a  is placed under the cold water filter layer  105   b.    
         [0025]     The left and right sides of the housing  104  have two openings for connecting the cold water passage  114   b  and the hot water passage  114   a , respectively. A cold water conduit  108   a  and a hot water conduit  108   b , respectively, are inserted into the openings. Check valves  107   a  and  107   b  are disposed respectively in the upper ends of the cold water conduit  108   a  and the hot water conduit  108   b  so as to prevent the water flowing therethrough from flowing back.  
         [0026]     The housing  104  includes a water output ring  120  connected to the casing bore  103   c  and a first longitudinal water output passage  121 , under which a second receiving hole  118  is provided. A distributor valve  111  is tied to a water distributor pull  113  via the valve casing  112 . The distributor valve  111  and the valve casing  112  are received in the second receiving hole  118 , with the latter connected to the second receiving hole. The water distributor valve  111  is moved transversely in the end portion  118   a  of second receiving hole  118 . The end portion of the distributor valve  111  is preferably shaped, in section, like a right hexagon with an upper salient and a lower salient. The end portion  118   a  of the second receiving hole  118  has a top portion connected to the first water output passage  121 , a left portion connected to the second water output passage  119   a , and a right portion connected to the third water output passage  119   b . The frontal surface of the end portion  118   a  is inclined at the same degree as the frontal face of the distributor valve  111 . The distributor valve  111  has a height greater than the general diameter of the second receiving hole  118  but less than the height of the end portion  118   a . As the distributor pull  113  is moved to the left, the distributor valve  111  slides in the same direction until it abuts against the left side wall of the end portion  118   a  so as to prevent water from flowing into the third water output passage  119   a  through the left portion of the end portion  118   a . Likewise, as the distributor pull  113  is moved to the right, the distributor valve  111  slides in this direction until it abuts against the right side wall of the end portion  118   a  so as to prevent water from flowing into the fourth water output passage  119   b  through the right portion of the end portion  118   a . When the distributor valve  111  is located on a midway along the end portion  118   a , water is allowed to flow into a third water output passage  119   a  and a fourth water output passage  119   b  concurrently. The third water output passage  119   a  and the fourth water output passage  119   b  are extended under the housing  104  for respective connections with the first water output conduit  109   a  and the second water output conduit  109   b . As shown in  FIG. 3A , the first water output conduit  109   a  is connected to the transversely-oscillating sprayer  11 , while second water output conduit  109   b  connected to the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer  12 .  
         [0027]     With reference now to  FIG. 6 , there is illustrated another preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the cleaning apparatus differs slightly from that shown and illustrated in connection with  FIGS. 4A-4C . The valve casing  103  and the central flow controller unit  102  may be inserted into the left portion of the first receiving hole  115  of the housing  104 , with the central temperature controller  105  being placed in the right portion thereof. However, in this embodiment, the water output conduit  109  may be connected directly with the casing bore  103   c  of the valve casing  103 , and connected to the transversely-oscillating sprayer and/or the longitudinally-oscillating sprayer for the purpose of the cleaning.  
         [0028]     The detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art could contemplate any other alternative embodiments that should be deemed as falling into the scope of protection as claimed.