Abstract:
A perineal spray attachment for use with a conventional toilet seat and which is specifically designed to be mounted to the underside of the seat for manipulation by either right or left hand. The attachment includes a discharge nozzle mounted at an end of an arcuately shaped conduit that is rigidly secured to a combination control valve and handle that is used to move the nozzle from a non-deployed position immediately beneath a portion of the toilet seat to a deployed position generally centrally of the opening in the toilet sear. The attachment also includes an inline venturi injector for entraining cleansing and other topical agents into the fluid flow through the discharge nozzle. The handle incorporates a valve for controlling liquid flow to the nozzle and which valve is actuated by an individual&#39;s thumb after the nozzle has been manipulated to the deployed position.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/129,825, filed Jul. 22, 2008, in the name of the same inventor, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is generally directed to personal hygiene attachments for use with conventional toilet seats and more specifically to a perineal cleaning attachment that includes a nozzle for discharging a liquid spray wherein the nozzle is manipulated between a non-deployed position, beneath a toilet seat remote from the opening therein, to a deployed position, generally centrally of the toilet seat opening, by a hand operable fluid flow control valve that also functions as a handle for moving the nozzle. The attachment may be selectively mounted to be operable from either the left or right side of the toilet seat when in use and further includes a venturi member for dispensing cleaning and other topical body treatment agents into the liquid spray. 
     2. Brief Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional bidets are modified toilet structures that issue a stream of water for purposes of cleaning a person&#39;s perineum area. Bidets have had wide spread acceptance in Europe and other countries and are now growing in popularity in the United States with many new homes and commercial lodgings providing such units as part of the accessories in a finished bathroom. Due to the large number of conventional bathrooms that do not include a bidet, bidet attachments have been proposed to permit conventional toilets to function both in their intended capacity and also as bidets. To accomplish this, a number of bidet attachments have been designed that may be mounted to existing toilet seats. The attachments are connected as branch flow lines from the plumbing pipes that are normally connected to fill supply tanks associated with toilets. The attachments further include one or more nozzles that may be selectively pivoted from positions remote from the openings in the toilet seats to positions generally centrally aligned with the openings in the toilet seats. Valves are incorporated with conventional bidet attachments for controlling fluid discharge as desired. 
     Some bidet attachments are somewhat awkward in that they require one handle for moving the nozzle or nozzles and a separate and spaced valve for controlling fluid flow. Other attachments are designed to be mounted to one side of a toilet seat and are thus difficult to use by individuals whose primary hand, or perhaps, only hand, is opposite to the side of the toilet to which the handle of the bidet attachment is positioned. 
     In many situations, it may be necessary for a nurse or other care provider to control the movement and liquid flow from a nozzle of a bidet device, and the design and structure of many conventional bidet attachments for toilets is not suitable for such assisted use. In addition to the foregoing, most bidet attachments for use with conventional toilets do not provide any simple and economical manner of allowing the liquid flow from the attachments to be entrained with body cleansing or topical treating agents, which may be beneficial in many situations for the comfort and/or health care of an individual. 
     In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide a attachment that may be easily and quickly mounted to either a left or right side of a conventional toilet seat to provide a controlled flow of liquid to be supplied to clean and or treat the perineum area of a person in such a manner that the control of liquid flow can be perform simultaneously with the movement of a spray nozzle associated with the attachment and wherein, cleansing agents, irritation reducing agents and other topically applied body treating agents may be easily introduced into the liquid supply stream without the need for complicated dispensers or feeder pumps and the like. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Perineal cleansing attachments for use with conventional toilet seats each of which includes a nozzle mounted at an end of a curved conduit that extends from an L-shaped conduit portion which is attached or connected to a valve member that functions as a control handle for moving the conduit so that the nozzle may be selectively pivoted between a non-deployed position beneath a toilet seat, remote from the opening therein, to a deployed position generally centrally of the toilet seat. A spring member is mounted to the L-shaped portion of the L-shaped conduit for constantly urging the control valve handle to be in a position such that the nozzle is in the non-deployed position. The valve is also connected by way of a conduit to a source of liquid supply which may be a plumbing conduit which normally supplies water to a fill tank of the toilet or to some other source. Mounted along the handle or along a length of the supply conduit is a venturi feeder or injector which is designed to permit a supply container to be mounted thereto such that the contents of the supply container may be entrained into the liquid flow toward the nozzle. 
     It is a primary purpose of the invention to provide a structure for a perineal cleansing attachment for a conventional toilet that may be selectively mounted to either the left or right underside of a conventional toilet seat for manipulation by either the left or right hand of an individual seated on the seat or by a health care provider and which attachment is thus not limited to a single mode of mounting, as is the case with prior art bidet attachments. 
     It is also an object of the invention to provide a perineal cleansing attachment for toilets that includes a venturi injector for entraining cleansing and other topical treating agents into a liquid supply stream to the nozzle of the attachment without the need for complicated valves, pumps and the like. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A better understanding of the invention will be had with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of perineal cleansing attachment of the invention mounted to a right side and beneath a conventional toilet seat for manipulation by a person&#39;s right hand; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial bottom plan view taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1  of the perineal cleansing attachment and toilet seat; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial top perspective illustrational view of the toilet seat and attachment shown in  FIG. 1  with the toilet seat shown in dotted lines and the attachment shown in a non-deployed position wherein the nozzle associated with the attachment is spaced from the opening in the toilet seat; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1  showing the perineal cleansing attachment being pivoted to a fully deployed position beneath the opening in the toilet seat; 
         FIG. 5  is a front cross sectional view showing the attachment taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1  but with the nozzle being moved to a deployed position and illustrating a spray stream of water or a combination of water and topical treating agent; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial bottom view showing the attachment being mounted beneath and to the left side of the toilet seat; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of the attachment as shown in  FIG. 6  showing the manner in which the spring is mounted to urge the nozzle to the non-deployed position thereof; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view of a compression swivel fitting that permits the conduit of the perineal cleansing attachment to be selectively oriented for either left or right mounting; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of the assembled swivel fitting of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a view of the nozzle of the attachment taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective assembly view of the handle, control valve and feeder or injector device of the attachment; 
         FIG. 12  is a cross sectional view through the feeder or injector device of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a cross sectional view taken through the handle, control valve and feeder or injector device of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With continued reference to the drawings, the perineal cleansing attachment  20  of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 1-5  as being mounted to a right side and bottom surface of a conventional toilet seat “S”. The seat defines an opening “O” above the bowl “B” of a conventional toilet. The toilet also includes a water supply tank “W” that is filled with water supplied through a shut off valve “V” and tank fill line “L”. The attachment includes a spray nozzle  21  having one or a plurality of discharge openings  22 , see  FIG. 10 , and which nozzle is mounted at an end of a curved outer portion  24  of a liquid discharge conduit  23  that includes a somewhat L-shaped portion  25  that extends to an agent feeder or injector  26  that is mounted so as to be in liquid flow communication with a control valve assembly  28  that also functions as a handle for pivoting the curved outer portion  24  of the discharge conduit  23  and thus the spray nozzle  21 . The valve assembly includes a “T” fitting  30  that is connected to one end of a flexible water supply conduit  32  which is connected at its opposite end to another “T” fitting which communicates with the tank fill line “L”. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 , the liquid discharge conduit  23  is pivotally secured to the bottom of the toilet seat “S” by a u-shaped bracket  33  that is attached thereto using screws  34 . In  FIG. 2 , the bracket is secured to the right side of the seat such that the control valve assembly  28  is easily accessible to a right hand of an individual seated on the seat “S” whereas, in  FIG. 6 , the bracket is secured to the left side of the seat such that the control valve is easily accessible with an individual&#39;s left hand. As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  6 , the curvature of the outer portion  24  is concave toward the opening “O” in the seat and is also such that the nozzle is normally positioned in a non-deployed position beneath a rear portion of the seat, but is pivotally movable vertically downwardly and forward to a deployed position by manual manipulation of the handle and control valve assembly  28  so that the nozzle is positioned below and generally centrally relative to the opening “O” of the seat. By manipulation of the valve assembly and the simultaneous activation of a push button  35  associated with the valve assembly, a liquid spray may be directed along all or selected portions of the perineum area of the person seated on the toilet seat. 
     The valve control assembly  28 , that also functions as the operating handle for moving the spray nozzle, is normally urged to a position that will ensure the outer curved portion of the discharge conduit and the nozzle are in their non-deployed by a spring assembly  40 . The spring assembly includes a coil spring  41  that is mounted about an outer portion of the L-shaped portion  25  of the discharge conduit  23  so as to be adjacent the u-shaped mounting bracket  33 . The spring  41  has an inner end  43  that is secured to the u-shaped mounting bracket  33  by the screw  34 , as in shown in  FIG. 7 . The spring also includes an opposite end  45 , that is mounted about the other segment or section of the L-shaped portion of the discharge conduit. The tensioning of the coil spring is such as to continuously urge the nozzle to the non-deployed position shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 . The positioning of the coil spring is simply reversed when the attachment  20  is mounted to the opposite side of the toilet seat as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 13 , the control valve assembly  28  includes the push button or knob  35  that is connected to a slide piston valve  50  mounted within a tubular valve housing  52 . The slide piston valve has an open channel therein that communicates with the discharge conduit  23  and through a side opening  54  with the “T” fitting  30 . A spring, not shown, within the valve housing normally urges the piston valve to a closed position wherein the opening  54  is sealed closed relative to the “T” fitting  30 . By depressing the knob  35  against the slide piston valve as shown by the arrow, the opening  54  becomes aligned with the “T” fitting  30  so that water flows from the supply conduit  32  to the discharge conduit  23 . When pressure on the knob  35  is released, the internal valve spring will move the slide piston valve back to its closed position. 
     Another beneficial feature of the present invention is that it is possible to entrain cleaning agents, topical body treating agents including anti-irritants, lubricants, medications and the like within the water flow to the discharge nozzle. To accomplish such an entrainment as easily as possible and without the need for powered metering or pumping devices, the invention includes the agent feeder or injector  26  that is mounted, in the preferred embodiment shown, downstream of the control valve assembly  28  and upstream of the L-shaped portion of the discharge conduit  23 . With specific reference to  FIGS. 11 and 13 , the feeder includes a housing  60  having a fluid passageway  61  there through having a venturi section  62  that communicates with a side port  64 . A dispensing container  68  is threadingly or otherwise mounted to the side port such that the contents thereof communicate with the venturi section  62  of the feeder or injector  26 . As water or other liquid passed through the venturi, liquid or other cleansing or treating agent, is drawn from the container  68  into the liquid as the liquid flows toward the discharge nozzle. 
     In a variation of the feeder or injector  26 , a pliable slit valve  70  may be mounted within the side port  64  so as to close the port and prevent contamination of the liquid channels within the feeder or injector whenever a dispensing container is removed from the side port. 
     The container  68  may be a dedicated container having product contained therein when purchased such that when the contents of the container are depleted, the container is disposable. In some instances the container may be a re-usable container that may be filled with any desired cleaning or body treatment agent. After use, the container may be cleaned and/or sterilized for subsequent use with the same or a different agent. 
     In  FIG. 11  a separate metering valve  72  is shown having an inlet  73  and an outlet  74 . The outlet  74  may be threaded or otherwise shaped to cooperatively seat with a neck portion  75  of the dispensing container  68  that may be threadingly engaged within the side port  64  of the feeder or injector  26 . By manipulation of a handle  76  of the metering valve  72 , a rate of supply of cleansing or other topical agent passing through the metering valve may be effectively regulated to the venturi of the feeder or injector  26 . 
     One of the unique features of the invention is that the attachment may be selectively mounted to either side of the bottom of the toilet seat without having to change the physical components associated therewith. Thus a single attachment may be distributed that can be used by persons needing right hand control or left and control. In addition, in those instances wherein it is necessary for a health care provider to manipulate the control assembly which functions as a handle, the valve control assembly may be mounted to suit the preference of the provider. In order to allowing the same structure to be used for left and right hand mountings, a swivel fitting  80 , see  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  11 , is mounted between the handle and control valve  28  and the feeder or injector  26 . The swivel fitting could also be mounted between the feeder or injector  26  and the liquid discharge conduit  23  and operate in the same manner. 
     The swivel fitting  80  permits the feeder  26  and the liquid discharge conduit to be rotated 180° relative to the handle and control valve assembly so that the discharge spray nozzle  21  is correctly orient in the deployed position centrally of the opening “o” in the toilet seat when the perineal cleansing attachment  20  is mounted to either the left or right side of the toilet seat. The swivel fitting includes a conduit  82  having a free end  83  that seats within a polished inner opening  84  of a discharge end  85  of the handle and control valve  28  so that the conduit may be rotated relative to the handle and control valve. To seal the connection, a bulbous seal  86  is friction fitted over the free end  83  of the conduit  82  after a female connector  87  is mounted to the conduit  82  adjacent the free end thereof. The female connector includes inner threads  88  that are cooperatively engaged with outer male connector threads  89  provided on the discharge end  85  of the handle and control valve  28 . As the male and female connector threads are tightened relative to one another, the seal  86  is compressed between a base portion  90  of the female connector and the junction area surrounding the point of entry of the free end  83  of the conduit  82  into the discharge end  85  of the handle and control valve  28 . By loosening the connection between the female connector and the discharge end of the handle and control valve, the conduit and other components of the perineal cleansing attachment  20  downstream thereof may be easily rotated relative to the handle and control valve. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented to illustrate the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by all of the embodiments encompassed within the following claims and their equivalents.