Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08B—SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
  • G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
  • G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
  • G08B21/04—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons
  • G08B21/0438—Sensor means for detecting
  • G08B21/0469—Presence detectors to detect unsafe condition, e.g. infrared sensor, microphone
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR, e.g. TOILET ACCESSORIES
  • A47K13/00—Seats or covers for all kinds of closets
  • A47K13/14—Protecting covers for closet seats
  • A47K13/145—Protecting covers for closet seats of rolled-up paper tubes or rolled-up plastic tubes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR, e.g. TOILET ACCESSORIES
  • A47K17/00—Other sanitary equipment not covered by the other groups of this subclass ; Holders for toilet brushes
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08B—SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
  • G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
  • G08B21/02—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
  • G08B21/04—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons
  • G08B21/0407—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons based on behaviour analysis
  • G08B21/043—Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons based on behaviour analysis detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G08—SIGNALLING
  • G08B—SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
  • G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
  • G08B21/18—Status alarms
  • G08B21/22—Status alarms responsive to presence or absence of persons

Definitions

• This invention relates to a control device for a toilet.
• An object of the invention is to provide a control device for a toilet with regard both to the presence of a user within the toilet and to his psycho- physical condition.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a control device which enables a user overcome with sudden illness to indicate his condition to the outside.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a control device which indicates the occurence of conditions dangerous for the user (commencement of fire, gas leak ; etc.) within the toilet.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a control device which ensures very hygienic conditions within the toilet with regard both to the water closet bowl and to the floor.
• a further object of the invention is to provide a control device which enables this hygienic condition to be achieved without wastage of the material used to achieve this condition.
• Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a toilet provided with the control device
• Figure 2 is perspective view of a water closet bowl
• Fi ⁇ ure 3 is a Dlan view thereof
• Figure 4 is a DersDective view of a hygienic foot rest
• Figure 5 is a front view thereof
• control device of the invention is installed within a toilet 2 and comprises substantially a control unit housed in a box structure 4 positioned in a region above the bowl 6 for controlling a plurality of sensors actuators optical and acoustic indicators etc described hereinafter
• control unit 4 controls
• a sensor 7 housed in the box structure 4 for sensing the presence of a person in the toilet
• an infrared proximity sensor 8 positioned to one side of the bowl at a height such as to sense the presence of the head of a person seated on the bowl
• an infrared proximity sensor 10 positioned on the ceiling its range of action embracing the space below the bowl
• a box structure 20 housing in its interior a first winding reel 22 for a renewable tubular web 24 providing hygienic protection to the seating portion Said first reel is mounted on the shaft of an electric motor 26 provided with an encoder and Dowered with direct current via a mains voltage transformer The electric motor is controlled bv the control unit The other end of the web is wound on a further idle unwinding reel 28 A buffer battery 30 is connected to the motor to operate in the absence of the mains supply
• an optical and/or acoustic alarm 49 which warms of the imminent emptying of the unwinding reel 28 - an alphanume ⁇ cal display 50 indicating the number of renewal feeds of the tubular web 24 available.
• the ring-shaped seating portion is engaged between the arms 32 of a fork lever 34 rigid with the shaft of an electric motor (not shown on the drawings) which when operated causes the seat to rotate from the raised vertical configuration to the lowered horizontal configuration and vice versa
• the arms 32 of the fork lever may be ooerated through the same elective motor 36
• the seating portion is also Drovided with a resistance element 36 for seat heating
• a foot rest 38 consisting of two parallel hollow containers 39 positioned to the sides of the bowl Each container is formed from two half-shells hinged along one longitudinal edge and comprising a slot along the other facing edge
• One of the two containers houses an idle longitudinal shaft 40 for engaging a reel of film material 42 of which one surface is water-absorbent and the other surface is Dlastic-coated and hence impermeable
• the other end of the reel is wound on a shaft 44 of a motor 46 housed in a watertight housing provided within the container
• Two idle rollers 47 are positioned in correspondence with the facing slots of the two containers and are secured to the toilet floor
• the control device is also provided with a plurality of LEDs which indicate the various states such as activation of the winding reel activation of the resistance element commencement of the reserve stock of tubular web and a plurality of automatic safety devices which act if the tubular web jams or tears or which halt any repeated malicious advancement of the web
• the invention also uses a plurality of limit sensors switches and change-over switches providing correct execution of the various operations
• the control unit also comprises a device for preventing the advancement of the tubular web if the sensor for sensing the Dresence of a person seated on the bowl seating portion is actuated and control means for
• the control device of the invention is used as follows At the moment in which the user enters the toilet and closes the door a sensor connected to it causes the control unit to activate the timer which monitors the time for which the user remains in the toilet This time is related to the position which the user assumes relative to the bowl i ⁇ whether he sits on it or remains standing this situation being determined by pressure sensor 9 and/or presence sensors 7 and 10
• a digitalized sound signal informs him that the time allotted to him is about to expire on which if the user wishes to prolong his presence in the toilet he merely has to operate an appropriate confirmation pushbutton If having suffered sudden illness the user is unable to operate this pushbutton on termination of the allotted time an audible and light-emitting alarm inform external personnel of an abnormal situation within the toilet
• the control unit unlocks the door to enable rescuers to enter the toilet
• Further monitoring of the psycho-physical condition of the user is provided by the pressure sensor 9 which if it no longer senses the person seated on the bowl indicates this situation to the outside in the case the user has not come out from the toilet within a prefixed time
• the pressure 9 and proximity 7 sensors detect in very close time the absence of the person and inform the control unit of this anomaly
• the pressure sensor 9 informs the control unit to rotate the motor in order to move the seating portion into the vertical configuration, to activate the flush and to spray the environment with perfume contained in a suitable container applicable to the outside of the bowl.
• control unit activates the motor 46, which rotates its shaft in the sense of winding film 42 onto the spool until a decoder senses a length of film corresponding to the distance between the two rollers 27.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Emergency Management (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine (AREA)
• Social Psychology (AREA)
• Psychology (AREA)
• Psychiatry (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Toilet Supplies (AREA)
• Sanitary Device For Flush Toilet (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=26332470

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (6)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 1998
  • 1998-12-01 EP EP98964474A patent/EP1036384A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1998-12-01 AU AU19660/99A patent/AU1966099A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-12-01 WO PCT/EP1998/007780 patent/WO1999028880A2/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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