Patent Publication Number: US-2010115687-A1

Title: Toilet seat provided with body weight meter

Description:
The present invention relates to a toilet seat with built in body weight meter, said seat being connected to a bowl by hinge bearings and having force sensors and force transmitting elements on the lower side, wherein the force sensors are connected to a display. 
     A great number of bathroom scales of different designs and constructions have already been known for a long time. Many variants of mechanic weight meters can be obtained, but—recently—electronic weight meters with digital display become more popular. 
     One of the drawbacks of the body weight meters presently in use is the need of proper space, which may be a problem in small rooms. Another drawback may be that an even, hard and horizontal surface is needed for accurate measuring. If the floor is uneven or askew, the weight meter will rock, or if the weight meter is placed on a carpet, the measuring will be vague. 
     One more drawback may be that standing on the scale, the weight cannot be read easily, as the display is far from the eye. 
     For eliminating the above drawbacks, toilet seats with built in body weight meter have been proposed (see among others JP 2001000268455 or WO 88/07176). In these body weight meters force sensors are arranged on the lower side of the toilet seat, and the force sensors are connected to a display. In some cases easy reading of the display is facilitated by arranging it directly on the seat (see DE 198 40 685 A1 or EP 1 189 042 A1) or on an extension thereof (U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,656), being nearer to the eye as the normal display of a bathroom scale. According to JP 199 000 278780, the display is arranged on the wall of the toilet. 
     However, the problem of accurate and reproducible measuring ensured by stable abutting of all force sensors on the surface of the toilet bowl and by the rocking free position of the toilet seat, have not been eliminated by these known constructions. 
     The reason of that is among others, that the surface of the toilet bowls is generally uneven and does not offer a perfect plane for the force sensors, which—in this way—cannot abut firmly on the surface of the toilet bowl. 
     Another reason is that the design of the toilet bowls is not standardised, the shapes of the different toilet bowls on the market are rather diverse, and there—for there is no guarantee that the force sensors on a toilet seat obtained in a shop will necessarily be in right positions above the rim of the toilet bowl at home. The force sensors, on the other hand, have to abut on the toilet bowl with their whole surface, or else the measurement will not be accurate, moreover there will be a danger of the sensors being damaged. 
     Yet another reason that the problems outlined above have not been eliminated by the known constructions is that the hinge bearings applied up to now do not ensure the perfect and stress-free lie of the toilet seat on the toilet bowl. 
     There is a further problem in connection with the known body weight meters arranged in a toilet seat, and that is the protection against water and dirt. For the undisturbed operation of the force transmitting elements, friction-free movement thereof is needed. Therefor, a thin gap should be between the outer surface of force transmitting elements and the housing of the force sensors. This gap, however, enables infiltrating of toilet water and dirt, which is not allowed hygienically and, on the other hand, may damage the weight meter in a short time. At the same time, cleaning of the gap is very difficult or not possible at all. 
     The known prior art publications are restricted to the weight meter constructions and do not deal with the solution of the problems of proper operation thereof. There are no suggestions e.g. for the elimination of the rocking of the toilet seat, due to the uneven surface of the toilet bowl or not correct hinge constructions. Similarly, there is no hint in the prior art to the protection of the sensors or to the need of adjusting their position to the shape of the toilet bowl. 
     Therefor, the object of the present invention is to provide a toilet seat with built in body weight meter, which eliminates the outlined drawbacks, enables a correct and reproducible measuring of the body weight and operates reliable. 
     The toilet seat according to the invention, which is connected to a bowl by hinge bearings and has force sensors and force transmitting elements on the lower side, wherein the force sensors are connected to a display, is characterized in that the hinge bearings comprise two bearing pins perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat and one bearing pin parallel with the toilet seat and the force transmitting elements are independently adjustable in vertical and/or horizontal direction. 
     The force transmitting elements are adjustable in horizontal direction with eccentric wheels, and in vertical direction with washers of different thickness or with lifting caps provided with such washers. 
     In order to protect the force sensors and the measuring system, the force transmitting elements, and in several cases the eccentric wheels as well, are at least partly covered with flexible protective caps, which are preferably held by an annular groove in the outer surface of the housing of the force transmitting element. The flexible protective caps and the lifting caps may be made of one single piece, as combined caps. 
     The construction according to the invention ensures the stress-free position of the toilet seat on all kinds of the toilet bowl, by enabling the horizontal and/or vertical adjustment of all force transmitting elements by jam-free rotation. Due to that, the person seating on the toilet seat has the feeling of stability, which is needed for the proper measurement as well. 
     Further advantage of the construction according to the invention is that the housing of the force transmitting elements and force sensors can be rotated by eccentric wheels and, in this way, can be adjusted to the shape of any toilet bowl on the market. 
     The washers of different thickness, alone or with lifting caps, enable the compensation of the height differences on the rim of the toilet bowl, which—preferably together with the horizontal adjustment—results in maximal adaptation of the position of the force transmitting elements to the given toilet bowl. 
     The flexible caps held by the housing of the force transmitting elements inhibit infiltration of toilet water and dirt and, due to their flexibility, do not influence the accuracy of the measurement. 
     The device is provided with a visual display or loudspeaker to forward the result of the measurement to the user. The measurement signal can be transmitted from the force sensors to the display means by wire, by radio waves, by projector etc. The measurement signal can also be a voice signal. 
     The construction of the device according to the invention does not need the use of special elements, the sensors e.g. or the display to be applied are well known construction parts of the body weight meters and are easily available on the market. 
    
    
     
       The invention will be described in detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non-limiting examples and in which 
         FIG. 1  shows a part of a possible embodiment of the toilet seat according to the invention, together with a force transmitting element and a hinge bearing, 
         FIG. 2  shows another possible embodiment of the hinge bearing of the toilet seat, 
         FIG. 3  shows a sectional view of a force transmitting element in the toilet seat, 
         FIG. 4  shoes a sectional view of a combined cap of a force transmitting element and 
         FIG. 5  shows a sectional view of a protective cap of a force transmitting element, covering the eccentric wheel. 
     
    
    
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , toilet seat  2  provided with force transmitting elements  1  is connected to a toilet bowl (not shown) by 3 hinge bearings. For better understanding, the toilet seat  2  is shown in a 180° backward tilted position (it is not used in this position). Though in  FIG. 1  one force transmitting element  1  is shown, there are preferably four such elements arranged in a toilet seat  2 . 
     The construction of hinge bearing  3  is not conventional, in order to enable stress-free arrangement of the toilet seat on the toilet bowl (not shown). There is a bracket  5  as usual on a conventional clamping screw  4 , the bracket, however, is not of the conventional construction. One arm (pin  6   a ) of a U-shape double pin is 6 hinged in a bore of bracket  5 , meanwhile an other arm (pin  6   b ) thereof is hinged in a bore of an auxiliary, intermediate block  7 . Pin  8  is projecting from the intermediate block  7 , said pin  8  having a geometrical axis perpendicular to the arms of pins  6   a  and  6   b . Pin  8  is hinged in another bracket  9  on the toilet seat  2 . The other hinge bearing not shown in  FIG. 1  is of similar construction. 
     Another possible embodiment of the hinge bearing is shown in FIG. 2. Here, the intermediate block  7  is directly hinged on pin  6  in the bracket  5  of clamping screw  4 . Intermediate block  7  has a hinged part  7   a  with a greater diameter and a pin  8  of smaller diameter, rotatably arranged in the hinged part  7   a . At the end of this pin  8 , there is a joint with pin  10 , said joint being provided with rotatable extensions  12  and  13 , holding the toilet seat  2  and a toilet cover  11 . 
     In both embodiments, the hinge bearing  3  is provided with three independent rotational axis, i.e. two bearing pins  6   a  and  6   b  or  6  and  10  perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat  2  and one bearing pin  8  parallel with the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat  2 , instead of the conventional single rotational axis. This arrangement enables a position for the toilet seat  2 , which is always parallel to the plane of the rim of the given toilet bowl, without any tilting or stress. 
       FIG. 3  shows a sectional view of a force transmitting element  1  in a toilet seat  2 . The housing  14  of the force transmitting element  1  (and the corresponding force sensor, not shown) is built in an eccentric disc  15 , and—in this way—all the force transmitting elements  1  can independently be adjusted in the plane of the toilet seat  2  to positions corresponding to the shape of the rim of the toilet bowl. The force transmitting elements  1  can independently be adjusted in vertical direction as well. The system contains a set of lifting caps  17  provided with washers  16  of different thicknesses. Lifting caps  17  together with the required amount of washers  16  can be pulled over the outer surface of the force transmitting elements  1 , and accordingly, all force transmitting elements  1  can independently be adjusted to contact the rim of the toilet bowl. 
     As, in order to ensure a friction-free movement, there is a clearance fit between a force transmitting element  1  and the corresponding housing  14 , the components arranged in the housing  14  can get choked without any protection. This protection is provided by the cap  18  shown in  FIG. 3 . It is made of a resilient material and is provided with an annular inner rib, which fit in an annular groove  19  on the outer surface of the housing  14 . 
     According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, lifting caps  17  and protecting caps  18  are made of one single piece, as combined caps  20 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5 . shows an other embodiment of the invention, wherein protection cap  18  is greater, than that shown in  FIG. 3  and covers eccentric disc  15 . Accordingly, annular groove  19  is provided on a ring  21  being part of the toilet seat  2 , instead of the outer surface of  14  housing. 
     The embodiment in  FIG. 5  does not contain any lifting cap  17  or combined cap  20 , the washers  16  are arranged in a seat provided in force transmitting element  1 . 
     The measurement signal can be transmitted from the force sensors to a display means by any well-known way: by wire, by radio waves, by projector etc. The measurement signal can also be a voice signal telling the user the result of the measurement. 
     With the toilet seat according to the invention, the problems outlined in the description of the state of art can be eliminated. 
     The toilet seat can always be arranged in a plane exactly parallel with the rim of any toilet bowl, without the danger of tilting or arising any stress in the seat. At the same time, all the force transmitting elements can be individually adjusted to the actual rim of a toilet bowl, both in vertical and horizontal directions. Moreover, the protection of the sensors against dirt is also provided. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes and substitution will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention.