Abstract:
A device for flushing, cleaning and servicing sanitary fixtures including an apparatus capable of heating and draining under control a pressurized fluid containing deterging, disinfecting, deodorizing substances and agents for dissolving calcareous deposits mixed with a suitable fluid which is conveyed to the sanitary fixture through pipes ending in spray nozzles which are placed around the upper edge of the sanitary fixture so as to direct the flush of the cleansing fluid to the inner surface thereof.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/804,843, filed Feb. 24, 1997, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Patent Cooperation Treaty international stage application Ser. No. PCT/IT95/00140, filed Aug. 21, 1995, now lapsed, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of the devices for flushing and cleaning sanitary fixtures, particularly the toilet bowl. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As well-known to everybody a lot of different products or accessories such as brushes, sponges, sprayers and the like are employed at the present state of art for cleaning sanitary fixtures, Such a lot of accessories make the cleaning of the sanitary facilities particularly lengthy, tiresome and expensive because of the cost and the quantity of specific products to be used. In addition, it should also be appreciated that water shortage in particular environments or areas makes it necessary to wisely use the available resources. It is enough to think to the little water available in boats and trailers for holidays or, more seriously, in some geographic areas where water shortage is one of the most severe problems. 
     A further serious drawback directly influencing the hygiene of people is the difficulty and the insufficiency of some public bodies such as schools, colleges, camping, hospitals, where the sanitary facilities are often in a critical situation due to the high number of users, thus causing a risk for the health of the people. 
     DE-A-2826094 discloses an apparatus with a separated conduit for the cleaning fluid, suitable to be operated after the flushing operation. 
     FR-A-2603054 discloses an apparatus for the cleaning of the toilet bowl seat suitable to be fitted to all types of toilet bowls. 
     These solutions only partially solve the problems of the cleaning of the toilet bowls, and show a plurality of technical difficulties related to the installation of the additional devices that are not fully integrated with the toilet bowls&#39; structure. 
     To solve such problems, in the hitherto installed sanitary facilities, particularly the toilet bowl, an additional supply of water is drained together with deodorizing soap, whereupon further cleaning and servicing interventions are needed such as the use of products for dissolving calcareous deposits in the pipes as well as cleansing agents and disinfectants along with their application means. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention seeks to overcome such problems by providing a device which is easy to use and has little overall dimensions, which can be installed both in old and new facilities in order to allow the sanitary fixtures to be cleaned and deodorized in a little time with low consumption of water and cleansing agents and, at the same time, also operates as descaling and disinfectant agent for pipes. 
     The present invention is based on the inventive concept of providing a new electric appliance capable of doing without the usual flush tank and the auxiliary cleaning means such as the long-handled scrubbing brush as it is provided with means for heating and pressurizing water from a domestic water supply and for mixing the water flush under pressure with cleansing agents. 
     To this end, a device for cleaning and servicing sanitary fixtures according to the invention includes means for heating and draining under control into the sanitary fixture to be cleaned a pressurized flush of detergents, disinfectants, agents for dissolving calcareous deposits mixed with a suitable fluid which is supplied through pipes ending in spray nozzles placed along the edge of the sanitary fixture so as to flush the inner surface thereof until the draining pipe. 
     The advantages essentially consist in that such a device can allow the flow rate of the cleansing fluid to be varied according to the amount necessary to clean the sanitary fixture, thus saving water and cleansing agents. Moreover, the hitherto requested interventions to clean, deodorize and disinfect the sanitary fixtures and to prevent scales from being formed in the pipes are drastically curtailed. It should be further appreciated that such features are particularly important in the already mentioned public installation where the general use of the present invention easily and effectively solves the problem of the hygiene both of the sanitary facilities and the connected sewer line in which, if it is the case, appropriate rat disinfestation substances may be periodically poured. 
     Further advantages of the invention are the versatility and easiness of use, the noiselessness of operation, and the capability of being installed both in old and new facilities as it may be connected to the water pipe network or to a flush tank and be positioned above or below, outside or inside the masonry. 
     Finally, the device of the invention allows the desired admixture of the substances to be added to the main fluid and the suitable selection of those having the lowest environmental pollution available on the market. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and further advantages will be better understood by anyone skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the annexed drawings, in which like elements are labeled by like reference numerals, given as not limiting examples and in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows schematically a first embodiment of a device for cleaning sanitary fixtures according to the invention. 
     FIG. 1A also shows schematically the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a control panel of a water flush box of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of elements within the water flush box of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a toilet bowl of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4A shows a modification of the toilet bowl of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4B shows a top view of the seat of the toilet bowl of FIG.  4 A. 
     FIG. 5 shows schematically a second embodiment of a device for cleaning sanitary fixtures according to the invention. 
     FIG. 6 shows schematically a third embodiment of a device for cleaning sanitary fixtures according to the invention which omits heating elements. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the construction of a device for flushing and cleaning domestic sanitary fixtures can be combined with the waterworks and the electric system generally existing in the buildings. More particularly, with reference to FIG. 1, such a conceived device consists of a water flush box  1  which is provided with an electromotor pump  76 A (FIG. 3) for pressurizing the water and heating elements  75 A (also known as electric resistances) for heating the water, housed in the wall  5 , connected to water inlet pipe  2 , and supplied by wires  6  connected to the electric system. Any pump having a suitable size to fit in the flush box  1  and capacity to pump the desired flush may be employed. A typical pump is HPV 2800 RPM, HPV 1750 RPM or IDM 1450 RPM pumps available from Annovi e Reverberi S.p.A., Italy. 
     The heating elements  75 A are conventional resistance heaters. However, all kinds of heaters are suitable for heating the water. For example, the heating elements  75 A may directly contact the water or indirectly contact the water. Moreover, the water feeding the flush box  1  through inlet pipe  2  may be from a cold water supply of the building plumbing system or a hot water supply of the building plumbing system. 
     The front side of the water flush box  1  is provided with a control panel  7  (FIGS. 1,  2 ) including: a door  71  of an inner tank  75  containing the substances to be added to the water; a pilot light  72 ; an operation push button  73 ; a setting thermostat  74  (FIG. 3) which controls electric power to the electric resistances  75 A; an air intake  76  for the electromotor pump  76 A (FIG.  3 ). Air intake  76  feeds air directly to the electromotor pump  76 A or merely to inside the flush box  1  to avoid overheating. The electromotor pump  76 A may include a cooling fan. Provided at the output of the water flush box  1  is a conduit  3  which is connected at the other end to the gasket type union of a toilet bowl  4  connected in turn to nozzles  41  placed around the whole upper edge  16  of the base  14  of the bowl  4  and directed to the inner surface thereof. 
     FIG. 1 shows a particular example of a flush box  1  where the shape of the controls is shown. However, as apparent from FIG. 2, the controls on the front of the flush box I are not restricted to a specific shape. 
     In operation, the water flush box  1  receives water from inlet pipe  2  and heats it by means of electric resistances  75 A controlled by thermostat  74 . At the same time, the desired cleansing fluid is obtained by taking from tank  75  the deodorizing, deterging, disinfecting substances and the agent for dissolving the calcareous deposits. As seen in FIG. 3 water passes through inlet pipe  2  into the flush box  1  where it enters the electromotor pump  76 A together with the deodorizing, deterging, disinfecting substances and the agent for dissolving the calcareous deposits from tank  75 . The water and agents are mixed together either in the electromotor pump  76 A or, in a modification not shown, just upstream of electromotor pump  76 A to form a mixture of fluids in the form of an emulsion. The water and agents are pressurized by the electromotor pump  76 A. The pressurized emulsion is discharged from the electromotor pump  76 A and feeds the heater  75 A which heats the emulsion. The electromotor pump  76 A and electric resistances are powered by electricity from the wires  6 . Typically, the electricity is controlled by the push button  73 . Push button  73  may be a simple on/off switch, or be provided with a microprocessor (not shown) programmed to control electricity to electromotor pump  76 A or electric resistance heater  75 A or both. 
     A control valve  78  (FIG. 3) controls the flow of the cleaning (or other) agent into the water. A typical control valve  78  is a “venturi tube” that functions as an inlet pump that drains the cleaning (or other) agent into the water flow. However, the invention is not limited to a venturi tube valve. Other kinds of valves, such as an electromagnetically (for example opened by a solenoid) or electronically actuated valve may be employed. Such a control valve may be controlled by an electromagnetic or electronic circuit, but it need not be electromagnetically or electronically controlled. 
     To sum up, unlike what is known, the device of the present invention allows the deodorizing liquid and the deterging liquid to be added only when the water is pressurized, thus avoiding a tank for water emulsion mixture of such liquids. This is very important in view of the overall dimension and the water consumption. In addition, it is well known that the cleaning action of the emulsions decreases with time. 
     In use, the user pushes the operation button  73  and holds it until the desired degree of cleanliness of the sanitary fixture (toilet bowl) is reached. If desired, a conventional toilet bowl may be employed, but preferably a toilet bowl such as bowl  4  (FIGS. 1,  4 ) is employed. 
     Advantageously, only a few seconds are needed to clean the bowl  4  because of the simultaneous action of detergents, heat, and intensity of flushing. Further, the design of the inner walls of the bowl  4  and the arrangement of the nozzles  41  are combined so as to direct the flush without dispersions of liquid, thus optimizing cleansing efficiency. The nozzles  41  may be of metal or plastic. The nozzles  41  may even be simply holes in the ceramic of the upper rim  16  of the base  14  of the toilet bowl  4 . 
     In fact, as can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, the direction of holes (nozzles)  41  is illustrated with broken lines and is tangential to the inner surface of the toilet bowl  4 , i.e., designed to skim the surface, so as to provide a strong cleaning action in combination with the pressure and the speed of the cleansing agent. The holes  41  are spaced apart any suitable distance. 
     In a variation of this embodiment, nozzles  141  may be provided on a seat  106  of a toilet bowl  104 A (FIG.  4 A). The seat  106  is held to the bowl  104  by hinges  110 . The nozzles  141  are located to contact the inner walls of the bowl  104  without contacting an upper edge  108  of the bowl  104 . A flexible end  103  of discharge pipe  3  is directly attached to the rear of the seat  106 , as shown in FIG. 4B, to be in fluid communication with the nozzles  141 . The nozzles  141  may be of metal or plastic fitted to the seat  106 . In the alternative, the nozzles  141  may be integrally formed in the material of the seat  106 . 
     Advantageously, in comparison with the water flushes on the market and their necessary adaptations, the device according to the invention may be installed in a very restricted room of the order of a couple of 20×20 cm tiles, and may require a maximum electrical input of about 2 kW which involves a negligible consumption due to the limited operation time. 
     FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention which has a flush box  201  which operates as does the first embodiment but reverses the order of heating and pressurizing. Thus, only the water is heated by the heating element  75 A. 
     FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention which has a flush box  301  which operates as does the first embodiment but omits heating elements. The third embodiment either uses cold water and has inlet pipe  2  connected to the cold water supply (not shown) of the building&#39;s plumbing system or, if hot water is desired, has inlet pipe  2  connected to the hot water supply (not shown) of the building&#39;s plumbing system. FIG. 6 also shows feeding the cleaning (or other) agent from the tank  75  into the inlet conduit  2  slightly upstream of the electromotor pump  76 A. 
     As can be seen from the above-described exemplified embodiments, the pressure of the cleansing agent flowing from the flush box cannot be adjusted directly by the user, even if this could be made by controlling the flush box itself. However, it is preferred to disclose the easiest device which can be used where a number of different pressures for different cleaning steps can be programmed according to as long time as button  73  is pressed by the user. 
     The detail of the above-described exemplified embodiments may be varied in the form, dimension, nature and arrangement of the components without parting from the scope of the inventive spirit and then remaining within the limits of protection of the present industrial invention.