Abstract:
A portable bidet uses (a) tap water line-pressure to generate the water jet without an electrical motor, (b) running tap water as the water source of the portable bidet, (c) an automatic control of the maximum water temperature in the optional water heater, (d) an optional device and method of generating warm water, (e) an optional reservoir to store warm water, (f) a rechargeable battery and an ac electrical source as optional energy sources to heat the water, (g) a new disposable nozzle with a release mechanism for an easy release of the nozzle after use, (h) an optional manual water temperature control and (i) an optional new medicine dispenser.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a utility application based on and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional applications No. 60/329,415, filed Oct. 15, 2001 and No. 60/346,348, filed Jan. 7, 2002. 
     
    
     
       STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSOR RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    The current invention is an improvement over the U.S. Patent, “Portable Hygienic Warm Water Jet Having Disposable Nozzle Tip” issued to the current inventor on Nov. 18, 1986 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,704). The above-mentioned patent will be referred to as “the existing Patent” hereafter.  
           [0006]    The existing Patent involves a portable bidet with a heating means providing warm water for cleansing the lower torso of the human body using a disposable nozzle, which delivers a stream of warm water jet to the body.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The current improvements over the existing Patent include the uses of (a) tap water line-pressure to generate the water jet without an electrical motor, (b) running tap water as the water source of the portable bidet, (c) an automatic control of the maximum water temperature in the optional water heater, (d) an optional device and method of generating warm water, (e) an optional reservoir to store warm water, (f) a rechargeable battery and an ac electrical source as optional energy sources to heat the water, (g) a new disposable nozzle with a release mechanism for an easy release of the nozzle after use, (h) an optional manual water temperature control and (i) an optional new medicine dispenser.  
           [0008]    The preferred embodiment of the present invention described in this document uses a rechargeable battery as the power source for heating the water. The system can also use the household ac electrical source or a portable burner such as a candle to heat the water. In the case that an ac electrical source or a portable burner is used to heat the water, other than having no rechargeable battery and some minor changes in the electrical wiring, the system remains the same as that powered by the rechargeable battery. Furthermore, the system can use the hot water from the household hot water line without heating the water within the system. In the case that the system uses the hot water from the household hot water line, the system also remains the same as that powered by the rechargeable battery with the exceptions that it is no longer necessary to have a water heater, a rechargeable battery and the related electrical circuits to heat the water. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    For a fuller understanding of the invention, the following drawings are provided in conjunction with the detail descriptions of the invention which will be presented in the next section:  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is an illustration of the sectional side view of the water heater unit.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is an illustration of the end view of the water heater unit.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is an illustration of the handheld nozzle system with the disposable nozzle and the medicine dispenser.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is an illustration of the rechargeable battery. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    With reference to FIG. 1, the present invention mainly includes a main housing unit  1  which houses a water heater unit  2  which includes a warm water reservoir  6 , a rechargeable battery  3 , a handheld nozzle system  4 , a manual water temperature control  5 , a medicine dispenser  7  and storage compartments  8  and  9 . The device provides a hygienic warm water jet delivered by the handheld nozzle system  4  using running tap water as the water source.  
         [0016]    In operation, a T-connector  10  is used to reconnect the existing water tank supply line  11  to one end of T-connector  10  at the connector location  12 . The other end of T-connector  10  is reconnected to the water tank  16  at the existing water tank connector location  13 . The water supply line  14  of the current device is connected to T-connector  10  at the connector location  15  such that the tap water supplies both the existing water tank  16  and the current device through the T-connector  10 . It should be noted that a given diameter of the water passageway at location  15  is chosen to regulate the tap water pressure to a desirable supply-line pressure to the current device. This diameter can be a variable one selected manually by means of a pressure regulator.  
         [0017]    The supply-line water is branched out to a cold water line  17   a  and a warm water line  17   b  feeding through the heater unit  2 . The out-put of the heater unit  2  feeds the warm water line  18 . A standard control valve is used in the manual temperature control  5  to provide a desirable water temperature for the individual user at out let  19  using the cold and warm water from lines  17   a  and  18  respectively. The heater unit  2  is designed to heat up the line water as rapidly as the power source allows when the device is in use. It is also designed to heat up the water in the warm water reservoir  6  when the unit is not in use. A thermal insulator (not shown) may be used on the walls of the warm water reservoir  6  to minimize the heat loss. The heater unit  2  will be described in more detail later with illustrations in FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0018]    The water with the selected temperature level in line  19  flows to a flexible tubing  22 , which is connected to the handheld nozzle system  4 . The nozzle system  4  mainly includes a water line  44 , a disposable nozzle  23 , a water volume control  25  and a medicine dispenser  7  with a dispenser pump  21 . The disposable nozzle  23  along with a nozzle release ring  24  is at the end of the water line  44 . For sanitary reasons, the nozzle  23  is disposed after each use. The handheld nozzle system  4  along with the medicine dispenser  7 , the disposable nozzle  23  and the release ring  24  will be described in more detail in FIG. 4 with an illustration.  
         [0019]    The rechargeable battery  3  slides into the main housing  1  vertically and connects electrically to the heater unit  2  at the electrical junction  27 . When the battery power indicator light  28  is on, it indicates that the battery is due recharging. Using the battery handle  26 , battery  3  can be pulled out vertically for recharging at a nearby household electrical outlet with a battery charger (not shown) through an electrical cable with a plug (shown in FIG. 5), which are attached to the battery. The rechargeable battery  3  is further illustrated in FIG. 5.  
         [0020]    As depicted in FIG. 1, a compartment  8  is provided, which stores away the handheld nozzle system  4  and the flexible tubing  22  when the device is not in use. Compartment  9  is also provided to store the new unused disposable nozzles  23  and the medicines to be used optionally by the user in conjunction with the medicine dispenser  7 .  
         [0021]    With reference to FIG. 2, the heater unit  2  mainly includes a heating element  30 , a warm water reservoir  6  with a rectangular or rounded airtight cover  60  and a base frame  61 . An electrical junction  27  is attached to the base frame  61  as shown in FIG. 3. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tap water is fed into the heater unit  2  through the heater inlet  31 . The water is then heated up to a maximum water temperature of, for example,  125  degrees Fahrenheit at the top portion of the warm water reservoir  6 . At this temperature, the power is cut off by a standard thermostat control with a sensor  35  at the vicinity of the heater outlet  33 . More than one heating element may be employed depending on the heating requirement and the spatial constrain. A pair of prongs  34  on the electrical junction  27 , as depicted in FIG. 3, plug automatically into the sockets (not shown) at the bottom of the rechargeable battery  3 , when the battery is in position. As shown in FIG. 3, wires  55 ,  56 ,  57  and  58  are used to connect the prongs  34  and the terminals of the heating element  30 . Wire  55  is connected to wire  56 , while wire  57  and wire  58  are both connected to an on-off switch  59  as shown. The wires  57  and  58  are electrically connected when the on-off switch  59  is set at the “on” position by the above-mentioned thermostat control when the water temperature monitored by sensor  35 , is below, for example, 125 degrees Fahrenheit. At or above this temperature, in this example, the on-off switch  59  disconnects the wires  57  and  58 . An electrical circuit (not shown) parallel to the power circuit which connects the prongs  34  and the heating element  30 , is used to light up the indicator light  28 , when the battery is “due recharging” after a standard detector (not shown) detects a low battery voltage. In the case that an ac power source, rather than a rechargeable battery is used in the current device, the prongs  34 , or the equivalent connectors will be connected directly to the power source.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 shows a detail configuration of the handheld nozzle system  4 . After the water feeds into the nozzle system from the flexible tubing  22 , it flows through the volume control valve  25  as shown. The volume control valve  25  is a spring-loaded valve, which is automatically preset to “water-off” position when the system is not in use. Moving valve  25  away from the preset “water-off” position by means of pulling trigger  47  slowly in a backward direction, the volumetric flow rate increases gradually until it reaches the maximum.  
         [0023]    The medicine dispenser system  7  includes a medicine compartment with a cover  50  and a finger-operated locking mechanism  20 , which lightly locks cover  50  in position. The medicine is pre-packed in a flexible plastic bag  45  with a small flexible straw  46  extended from the bottom to the outside of the bag  45 . The straw  46  is attached airtight to the opening of the sealed bag  45  such that the medicine can only be dispensed through straw  46 . As depicted in the Figure, a small side branch  62  with a small hole (not shown) is extended normally to the water line  63 . This side branch  62  with two standard one-way valves at  48  and  49 , is a finger-operated hand pump  21  for dispensing the medicine in bag  45  through straw  46  which is tightly attached to the pump  21  as shown. When the pump  21  is not in use, a piston inside the pump  21  is drawn away from the water line by a spring force creating a small cavity filled with medicine. Whenever the medicine dispensing is desired, the user pushes the handle of the hand pump  21  in the direction towards the water line  63 , consequently a small amount of medicine is pumped into the water line  63  through the one-way valve  48 . The locations of trigger  47  and the handle of the pump  21  can be chosen in such a way that the trigger and the handle of the pump can be pulled and pushed respectively using user&#39;s different fingers, while the user is holding the handle of the nozzle system  4 . The pulling of trigger  47  and the pushing of the handle of pump  21  can be performed simultaneously or independently, providing the user with a choice of dispensing the medicine at any time when the nozzle is in use. It should be noted that the plastic bag  45  in the medicine compartment is exposed to the atmospheric pressure through the air gap between the compartment and its cover  50 . To further ensure this constant compartment pressure, a small breathing hole (not shown) can be constructed on the compartment cover  50 . Many types of medicines may be used. The medicine may, for example, be a soap or a non-soap.  
         [0024]    The disposable nozzle  23  is lightly pressure-fit to the end of the water line  44  which is bent from the main water line with an angle of about 70 to 90 degrees as shown. The nozzle  23 , which is made of a thin plastic or other material such as paper, has a uniform diameter section  51  at one end. It then turns into a nozzle configuration with the smallest diameter at the opening end. A release ring  24  is placed loosely on water line  44  in such a way that the ring  24  can slide freely along the outer surface of water line  44 . When the ring  24  is pushed towards the direction of the disposable nozzle  23 , it releases the nozzle  23  for disposal. A bendable plastic disposable nozzle  23  similar to the commercially available “bendable straw” can be used to create desirable nozzle angles by the user. In this case, the end of the water line  44  need not be bent as shown and can be in-line with the main water line. Different nozzle openings and nozzle surface profiles can be adopted for different nozzle applications. For example, for a regular external cleansing, a single opening at the tip  64  of the nozzle  23  is preferable, while for an application as a douche, small side-way openings located within the longitudinal grooves on the nozzle surface  65  are more functional and preferable.  
         [0025]    Depicted in FIG. 5 is the rechargeable battery  3  with an handle  26 , a combined electrical cable and plug  52  and a rectangular guide  53 . As mentioned earlier, using handle  26 , the battery  3  slides in the main housing  1 , as shown previously in FIG. 1. When the battery  3  is in housing  1 , a space is created between the bottoms of the housing  1  and the battery  3 . This space is used to store the combined electrical cable and plug  52 , which is connected to the bottom of the battery  3 . The guide  53  is used not only to orient and to position the battery  3  when it is being placed in housing  1 , but also to provide a means of connecting the battery power to heater unit  2  as well as to the battery power indicator light  28 , through the electrical junction  27 . A pair of electrical sockets (not shown) at the bottom of guide  53  connect automatically to prongs  34  shown in FIG. 2, when the battery  3  is in position. If the ac outlet is readily available near the location of the current device, and if the rechargeable battery rather than the direct ac power source is preferred, the cable and plug  52  can be extended out of housing  1  through a hole (not shown) and plug in the ac outlet indefinitely without removing the battery from the main housing for recharging. It should be noted that the number of rechargeable battery used in the current device is not limited to one. Two or more batteries with different number of heating elements may be employed in the current device depending on the battery capacity and heater power requirements as well as other factors such as the weight of an individual battery unit and the economical considerations.  
         [0026]    As mentioned earlier, the current system can also be powered by the household ac electrical source without any other power source. An optional ac adapter can be provided in the system with the rechargeable battery such that the same heating element is used in both dc and ac applications. In the case that ac electrical source is used, due to higher voltage and current are involved, a circuit breaker can be provided in the system for an additional safety protection of the users. Also when ac electrical power source is used, microwave power or other light power can be used to heat up the water in the water heater.  
         [0027]    Certain variations may be made to the preferred embodiment as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.