Patents by Inventor Toshifumi Yoneda

Toshifumi Yoneda has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9062444
    Abstract: A flush toilet having a toilet main unit cleaned by flush water is disclosed. The flush toilet comprises a reservoir tank for storing therein flush water; a bowl portion having a waste-receiving surface and a rim section; a drainage passage for expelling waste therethrough by means of siphon action; a rim water spouting port provided in the rim section at a position corresponding to a lateral region of the bowl portion; a jet water spouting port for spouting flush water toward an inlet of the drainage passage; a rim water guide passage for guiding flush water to the rim water spouting port; a jet water guide passage for guiding flush water to the jet water spouting port; and a flow dividing chamber for dividing and distributing flush water to the rim water guide passage and the jet water guide passage, wherein the flow dividing chamber, the rim water guide passage and the rim water spouting port are formed approximately along the same straight line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Shigehisa Shirakawa, Mayu Okubo, Toshifumi Yoneda
  • Patent number: 8695126
    Abstract: A flush toilet includes a bowl portion having a waste receiving surface, a rim portion, spout portions for spouting flush water supplied from a reservoir tank into the bowl portion, and a water discharge trap pipe for discharging waste. The water discharge trap includes an inlet connected to a bottom of the bowl portion. The bowl portion waste receiving surface includes an upper waste receiving surface connected to the rim portion, and a concave portion connected between the upper waste receiving surface and the discharge trap pipe. The concave portion includes a bottom surface connected to the discharge trap pipe and is positioned below the upper waste receiving surface, and a wall surface connecting the bottom surface and a bottom edge portion of the upper waste receiving surface. A front region of this wall surface forms a sloped surface sloping on the inside from bottom to top.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2014
    Assignee: ToTo Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshifumi Yoneda, Masaaki Inoue, Yu Yamasaki
  • Patent number: 8640272
    Abstract: A flush toilet bowl includes: a bowl portion including a pooling portion in communication with a drain conduit; a rim surface provided above the bowl portion; and a first slit opening configured to spout flush water supplied through a first conduit toward the bowl portion and to spout the supplied flush water in a generally tangential direction of the rim surface, thereby generating a swirling flow flowing forward near a boundary between the rim surface and the bowl portion. A slit opening shape in a cross section generally perpendicular to a flow direction of water flow spouted from the first slit opening is horizontally flattened. There is provided a flush toilet bowl capable of minimizing the overhang of the rim portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2014
    Assignee: Toto Ltd
    Inventors: Tomoaki Morita, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomohiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20130019391
    Abstract: The flush toilet comprises: a bowl portion including a waste receiving surface and a rim portion; spout portions for spouting flush water supplied from a reservoir tank into the bowl portion; and a water discharge trap pipe for discharging waste, the inlet of which is connected to the bottom of the bowl portion; whereby the bowl portion waste receiving surface includes an upper waste receiving surface connected to the rim portion, and a concave portion connected between the upper waste receiving surface and the discharge trap pipe, the concave portion includes a bottom surface connected to the discharge trap pipe and positioned below the upper waste receiving surface and a wall surface connecting this bottom surface and the bottom edge portion of the upper waste receiving surface, and the front region of this wall surface forms a sloped surface sloping on the inside from bottom to top.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 24, 2013
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Toshifumi YONEDA, Masaaki INOUE, Yu YAMASAKI
  • Publication number: 20120284910
    Abstract: A flush toilet having a reservoir tank for storing therein flush water; a bowl portion having a waste-receiving surface and a rim section; a drainage passage for expelling waste therethrough by means of siphon action; a rim water spouting port provided in the rim section at a position corresponding to a lateral region of the bowl portion; a jet water spouting port for spouting flush water toward an inlet of the drainage passage; a rim water guide passage for guiding flush water to the rim water spouting port; a jet water guide passage for guiding flush water to the jet water spouting port; and a flow dividing chamber for dividing and distributing flush water to the rim water guide passage and the jet water guide passage, wherein the flow dividing chamber, the rim water guide passage and the rim water spouting port are formed approximately along the same straight line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Publication date: November 15, 2012
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Shigehisa SHIRAKAWA, Mayu OKUBO, Toshifumi YONEDA
  • Patent number: 8037552
    Abstract: A flush toilet is provided having a bowl portion with a bowl-shaped waste-receiving surface and a rim portion the inside wall surface on the top edge of which protrudes inward. A trap pipe is connected to the bottom portion of the bowl portion. A first shelf portion is formed to follow the rim and a second shelf portion is formed on the waste receiving surface below the first shelf portion projecting above the initial accumulated water level. An orifice for issuing water into the first shelf portion and forming a swirl flow in the waste receiving surface is provided along with a second orifice for issuing water into the second shelf portion for forming a flow to swirl water within the bowl portion is further provided with first and second flow paths for respectively supplying water to the first and second orifices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2011
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Shinji Shibata, Shuichi Nagashima
  • Publication number: 20110023224
    Abstract: A flush toilet is provided having a bowl portion with a bowl-shaped waste-receiving surface and a rim portion the inside wall surface on the top edge of which protrudes inward. A trap pipe is connected to the bottom portion of the bowl portion. A first shelf portion is formed to follow the rim and a second shelf portion is formed on the waste receiving surface below the first shelf portion projecting above the initial accumulated water level. An orifice for issuing water into the first shelf portion and forming a swirl flow in the waste receiving surface is provided along with a second orifice for issuing water into the second shelf portion for forming a flow to swirl water within the bowl portion is further provided with first and second flow paths for respectively supplying water to the first and second orifices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2010
    Publication date: February 3, 2011
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Shinji Shibata, Shuichi Nagashima
  • Patent number: 7827628
    Abstract: A flush toilet is provided having a bowl portion with a bowl-shaped waste-receiving surface and a rim portion the inside wall surface on the top edge of which protrudes inward. A trap pipe is connected to the bottom portion of the bowl portion. A first shelf portion is formed to follow the rim and a second shelf portion is formed on the waste receiving surface below the first shelf portion projecting above the initial accumulated water level. An orifice for issuing water into the first shelf portion and forming a swirl flow in the waste receiving surface is provided along with a second orifice for issuing water into the second shelf portion for forming a flow to swirl water within the bowl portion is further provided with first and second flow paths for respectively supplying water to the first and second orifices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Shinji Shibata, Shuichi Nagashima
  • Publication number: 20100186158
    Abstract: A flush toilet bowl includes: a bowl portion including a pooling portion in communication with a drain conduit; a rim surface provided above the bowl portion; and a first slit opening configured to spout flush water supplied through a first conduit toward the bowl portion and to spout the supplied flush water in a generally tangential direction of the rim surface, thereby generating a swirling flow flowing forward near a boundary between the rim surface and the bowl portion. A slit opening shape in a cross section generally perpendicular to a flow direction of water flow spouted from the first slit opening is horizontally flattened. There is provided a flush toilet bowl capable of minimizing the overhang of the rim portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2008
    Publication date: July 29, 2010
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Tomoaki Morita, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomohiro Hirakawa
  • Patent number: 7761934
    Abstract: A flush toilet and a drain socket are provided that align the direction of waste passing through a drainage trap so as to prevent pipe clogging without impairing wastewater discharge performance by a siphon effect. The drain socket is for connecting an outlet of a trap drainage channel of a flush toilet unit and a drain pipe located external of the flush toilet unit. The drain socket includes a drain socket body provided with an inlet for coupling with the trap drainage channel and an outlet for coupling with the drain pipe, a siphon inducing region provided on an inner wall of the drain socket body for inducing a siphon effect, and a straightening vane provided upstream of the siphon inducing region of the drain socket body to extend from the inner wall in the inward direction of the channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Osamu Kobayashi, Katsuhiro Kawakami, Mitsuyoshi Machida, Shinji Shibata, Hiroshi Tomonari
  • Patent number: 7661153
    Abstract: A flush toilet that uses a prescribed amount of cleansing water stored in a cleansing water tank to cleanse the toilet and discharge waste is disclosed. The flush toilet includes a bowl having a waste receiving surface, an overhanging rim and a shelf, a drainage channel whose inlet is connected to the bottom of the bowl for discharging waste, a first water spouting section for spouting cleansing water onto the shelf of the bowl to form a vortex; a second water spouting section for spouting cleansing water onto shelf of the bowl in the same direction as the swirling direction of the vortex, a first water channel for supplying cleansing water from the cleansing water tank to the first water spouting section, and a second water channel for supplying cleansing water from the cleansing water tank to the second water spouting section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2010
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomoyasu Ichiki, Hiroshi Tomonari, Kyoji Asada, Katsuhiro Kawakami
  • Patent number: 7325258
    Abstract: Providing a flush toilet wherein the amount of water supplied to the jet hole and the amount of water supplied to the rim section are independently controlled. The present invention is a flush toilet (1) for supplying flushwater from a flushwater tank, the flush toilet comprising a bowl section (2) at the bottom portion of which is formed a jet hole; a jet flushwater tank (10) for storing flushwater to be supplied from the jet hole; a jet drain valve (14) disposed on the jet flushwater tank; a jet water conduit (18) for conducting flushwater which has passed through the jet drain valve to the jet hole; a rim section (4) disposed on the upper portion of the bowl section; a rim flushwater tank (8) for storing flushwater supplied to the rim section; a rim drain valve (12) disposed on the rim flushwater tank; and a rim water conduit (16) for conducting flushwater passed through the rim drain valve to the rim section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2008
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Kyoji Asada, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomohiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20070277302
    Abstract: Problem: To provide a flush toilet capable of effectively expelling waste using a swirl flow without utilizing a strong siphon action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2007
    Publication date: December 6, 2007
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Shinji Shibata, Shuichi Nagashima
  • Publication number: 20070061955
    Abstract: Providing a flush toilet wherein the amount of water supplied to the jet hole and the amount of water supplied to the rim section are independently controlled. The present invention is a flush toilet (1) for supplying flushwater from a flushwater tank, the flush toilet comprising a bowl section (2) at the bottom portion of which is formed a jet hole; a jet flushwater tank (10) for storing flushwater to be supplied from the jet hole; a jet drain valve (14) disposed on the jet flushwater tank; a jet water conduit (18) for conducting flushwater which has passed through the jet drain valve to the jet hole; a rim section (4) disposed on the upper portion of the bowl section; a rim flushwater tank (8) for storing flushwater supplied to the rim section; a rim drain valve (12) disposed on the rim flushwater tank; and a rim water conduit (16) for conducting flushwater passed through the rim drain valve to the rim section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Publication date: March 22, 2007
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Kyoji Asada, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomohiro Hirakawa
  • Publication number: 20060123533
    Abstract: A flush toilet and a drain socket are provided that align the direction of waste passing through a drainage trap so as to prevent pipe clogging without impairing wastewater discharge performance by a siphon effect. The drain socket is for connecting an outlet of a trap drainage channel of a flush toilet unit and a drain pipe located external of the flush toilet unit. The drain socket includes a drain socket body provided with an inlet for coupling with the trap drainage channel and an outlet for coupling with the drain pipe, a siphon inducing region provided on an inner wall of the drain socket body for inducing a siphon effect, and a straightening vane provided upstream of the siphon inducing region of the drain socket body to extend from the inner wall in the inward direction of the channel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 25, 2003
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Tomoyasu Ichiki, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Osamu Kobayashi, Mitsuyoshi Machida, Shinji Shibata, Hiroshi Tomonari
  • Publication number: 20060005310
    Abstract: A flush toilet that uses a prescribed amount of cleansing water stored in a cleansing water tank to cleanse the toilet and discharge waste is disclosed. The flush toilet includes a bowl having a waste receiving surface, an overhanging rim and a shelf, a drainage channel whose inlet is connected to the bottom of the bowl for discharging waste, a first water spouting section for spouting cleansing water onto the shelf of the bowl to form a vortex; a second water spouting section for spouting cleansing water onto shelf of the bowl in the same direction as the swirling direction of the vortex, a first water channel for supplying cleansing water from the cleansing water tank to the first water spouting section, and a second water channel for supplying cleansing water from the cleansing water tank to the second water spouting section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2003
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Kenichi Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ozeki, Toshifumi Yoneda, Tomoyasu Ichiki, Hiroshi Tomonari, Kyoji Asada
  • Publication number: 20030213055
    Abstract: A toilet 10 has a bowl 20, a connection pathway 31, an ascending pathway 32, and a descending pathway 33 across a weir 34. The descending pathway 33 includes an expanded section 33a having a greater pipeline diameter and a tapered end 33b having a narrower opening area than that of the expanded section 33a, and is connected with a drain socket 70. The drain socket 70 has an inner drain conduit socket member 72 that is attached to be located inside a drain conduit 90. The inner drain conduit socket member 72 has an extended socket section 75, which is located below a floor surface FL of a lavatory and has a greater pipeline diameter, and a tapered conduit section 76, which has a narrowed diameter. These sections 75 and 76 constitute a siphon action induction module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Publication date: November 20, 2003
    Applicant: TOTO LTD.
    Inventors: Toshifumi Yoneda, Masaya Sou, Shinji Shibata, Takayuki Ohtani, Hidetaka Miyahara, Noboru Shimbara, Koji Sakemi, Masahiro Shinkawa, Masaki Kitamura, Hiroshi Tomonari, Takeshi Shimizu
  • Publication number: 20030204902
    Abstract: A toilet 10 has a bowl 20, a connection pathway 31, an ascending pathway 32, and a descending pathway 33 across a weir 34. The descending pathway 33 includes an expanded section 33a having a greater pipeline diameter and a tapered end 33b having a narrower opening area than that of the expanded section 33a, and is connected with a drain socket 70. The drain socket 70 has an inner drain conduit socket member 72 that is attached to be located inside a drain conduit 90. The inner drain conduit socket member 72 has an extended socket section 75, which is located below a floor surface FL of a lavatory and has a greater pipeline diameter, and a tapered conduit section 76, which has a narrowed diameter. These sections 75 and 76 constitute a siphon action induction module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Publication date: November 6, 2003
    Inventors: Toshifumi Yoneda, Masaya Sou, Shinji Shibata, Takayuki Ohtani, Hidetaka Miyahara, Noboru Shimbara, Koji Sakemi, Masahiro Shinkawa, Masaki Kitamura, Hiroshi Tomonari, Takeshi Shimizu
  • Patent number: 6145138
    Abstract: The flush toilet has a waste receipt surface section (10) of a bowl section (1) formed continuously integrally with an inner rim wall surface section (15) of the rim portion disposed at a peripheral edge of an upper opening (13) of the bowl section (1) as a curved surface; and the inner rim wall surface section (15) of the rim portion acts as a flush water passage (16) of the bowl section. The flush water passage (16) of the bowl section is further configured such that the inner rim wall surface section (15) of the rim portion is shaped in an overhanging form inclining so as to hang over inside of the bowl section (1). The flush toilet of this configuration can be cleaned with ease and kept clean in sanitation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichi Nakamura, Toshifumi Yoneda
  • Patent number: 5706529
    Abstract: A water closet having a trap drainage exit in a wall above a floor, in which at the time of flushing, a vent space is partitioned in a wall-like manner by water falling from a weir. A rise in the water level of a sump portion of the trap results, and air within the trap is quickly forced toward the drainage exit side by the force of the water flow to cause the interior of the trap drainage to have a decreased pressure so that siphon action easily occurs. When the feed rate of water from a tank slows, to terminate the siphon action, air is promptly introduced into the siphon area from a notch in a partitioning wall, whereby the air introduction is hastened and the siphon effect is terminated quickly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 13, 1998
    Assignee: Toto Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshio Kai, Toshifumi Yoneda