SITTING AND SQUATTING WATER CLOSET AND SEAT WITH CISTERN BELOW
A water closet (WC) or toilet bowl usable in either in the: 1) sitting, 2) front facing squatting, or 3) rear facing squatting postures. The WC consists of an elongated receptacle (10) similar in ratio of length to width to an eastern squatting-type WC, with shrouds (11) at each end to contain urine spray and footrests on each side, at a slightly lower level than the receptacle, but at such a height above the floor that mounting the footrests is not uncomfortably precarious. The volume below the receptacle and footrests is used for a cistern, fed from a normal pressurised water supply, so that the flush water source is near the siphon jet entrance at the front part of the S-bend. A hinged seat, of suitable thickness/height so that when folded down and resting on the receptacle, forms a suitably high ring-shaped sitting surface.
This invention relates to water closets (WC), also known as toilet bowls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe modern western WC requires the user to sit on it during use. However, in many other societies, for example Asian countries, squatting while defecating or urinating is a common practice. Studies have shown that adopting the squatting posture during elimination of bodily wastes has health benefits. However, persons with disorders of the knees or the back, for example in elderly persons, may be unable to adopt a squatting posture. For such persons, they are constrained to using the sitting-type western WC. Therefore, the ideal WC is one that can cater to both sitting and squatting.
A similar invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,797. However, its construction consists of a large platform which appears more part of the bathroom than part of the WC. Thus its installation will be more difficult compared to that of the western WC. The same can be said of the Asian squatting WC (except raised pedestal-type Thai designs), which either requires hacking into the floor or building up a raised floor to accommodate the depth of the bowl. Additionally, in spite of its having the potential for using the volume below the toilet bowl as a cistern, no such claim was made. In a conventional WC, water remains in its lower part in the S-bend, forming a water seal to prevent foul odours from the sewer pipe from entering the bathroom. In the said US patent, however, the invention is intended for installation on a vehicle (aeroplane, train, etc.), and no claims were made with respect to the design of the S-bend and water level in relation to the user.
In either the sitting or squatting WC, splashing of the water from the lower part of the bowl during defecation is a nuisance. A possible method to reduce splashing is by having the water level to be at an appropriate level below the anus of the user, usually not too low. This is achieved by designing the weir part of the S-bend at a high level. However, to flush such a toilet bowl, the S-bend has to be filled sufficiently quickly with a large amount of water in order to initate siphon action in the S-bend, which then sucks out waste in the bowl. In recent years, pressure to conserve water has forced designers to reduce the previously large amount of water required to initiate siphon action, by using ever larger flush valves in the cistern or using pressurised flushing systems. Working in contradiction to this desire to conserve water is the need to have a S-bend with a large diameter to reduce the risk of blockage: a large diameter S-bend requires more water to initiate siphon action.
Logical analysis of the circumstances will lead to the conclusion that placement of the source of flush water should be adjacent to siphon jet at the front of the S-bend, with a flush valve between the water source and the jet. This eliminates the convoluted path that the flush water has to take before passing through the siphon jet. However, the space immediately in front of the S-bend is confined in its upper boundary by the WC pan. Hence it cannot store flush water at a high elevational head. This then leads to the conclusion that a pressurised cistern is required, which derives its pressure from the static supply pressure of the water supply. The typical static supply pressure is at least 1.3 bars, which translates into 13 metres of elevational head, a figure much higher than any high-mounted gravity cistern can offer. Thus the combination of 1) the flush valve being adjacent to the siphon jet, 2) the close proximity of the water source to the jet and 3) the high pressure of the water source leads to extremely rapid initiation of siphon action, which reduces the water used in flushing.
In other bowls, another method to eliminate splashing is to design the WC such that stools land not over water, but on a substantially dry part of the WC pan. In such designs, two disadvantages arise: 1) the odour of the stools are not isolated by their being submerged in water; and 2) the stools leave stains on the surface of the bowl, which flushing may not successfully remove. Conversely, this feature is useful if the stools need to be examined or collected for medical diagnostic purposes.
Also currently available (from the Indian sub-continent) are WCs which appear like a normal western sitting WC with wing-like foot rests extending from each side of its rim. The level of the foot rests is approximately at sitting height. Hence, climbing onto the foot rests is an uncomfortable and precarious act. In contrast, are the raised pedestal-type squatting WCs (from Thailand) whose foot rests are at a lower level and are hence easier to mount. However, such WCs cannot be used in the sitting posture because the height of the WC pan is too low. In both types, any shifting of the feet while taking up the squatting posture has the risk of slipping and falling off the foot rests onto the floor or into the toilet bowl. On the other end of the scale is the regular Asian WC, whose foot placement is at floor level. This is also not ideal as a person walking about in the toilet, especially in poor lighting, risks slipping and falling into the WC pan.
It is with these backgrounds that the present invention is conceived.
Objects of the InventionThe object of the invention is to provide a WC that overcomes the imperfections of existing sitting, squatting and combination sitting and squatting WCs. Hence the invention shall:
1. be usable with either a sitting or a squatting posture;
2. when used in the squatting posture, be usable facing either end of the WC;
3. (as a collorary to object 2 above) allow either the stools to drop onto the substantially dry part of the interior of the WC pan (for ease of stool observation and/or stool sample collection or in the case of diarrhoea, to avoid splashing) or allow the stools to drop into the water present in the wet part of the WC pan (to quickly seal off foul odours from the stools);
4. have hoods at each end to catch urine spray;
5. have foot rests that are elevated above floor level (to minimise the risk of slipping into the WC pan while walking about in the toilet) but at a resonable height (so that mounting the WC for squatting is safe and comfortable);
6. have a raised rim demarcating the foot rests and the WC pan to further reduce the risk of slipping into the WC pan during use;
7. have a water level not too far below the anus when used in either the sitting or squatting posture so that splashing is minimised or even eliminated;
8. be convenient to install with no need to hack a hole in the toilet floor or build up a raised floor to accept the WC;
9. utilise the volume below the WC pan in front of the S-bend for a cistern to contain the flush water so that the water need not take a long and convoluted path to pass though the siphon jet and enter the S-bend;
10. utilise the static pressure of the water supply to overcome the lack of elevational head of the cistern location described in object 9;
11. require a relatively small amount of water for flushing, due to the combination of objects 9 and 10.
The accompanying drawings which are incorporated into and constitute a part of the description of the invention illustrate an embodiment of the invention and serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purposes of illustration only, and not as a definition of the limits of the invention for which reference should be made to the claims which will be submitted separately at a later date.
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While only the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated, it is to be understood that many changes, modifications and variations could be made to the toilet bowl of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
Claims
1. A water closet comprising:
- a substantially elongated toilet bowl, the toilet bowl comprising a pan section disposed at a first end and a siphoning section disposed at the opposing end for siphoning waste out of the toilet bowl;
- and a pressurised cistern for storing flush water for releasing into the siphoning section;
- wherein the pressurised cistern is disposed in a space substantially below the pan section and adjacent to the siphoning section.
2. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a toilet seat pivotally coupled to the toilet bowl and configured to rest above the toilet bowl in a lowered position.
3. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a foot rest disposed on either side of the toilet bowl, wherein the foot rest is elevated with respect to a floor.
4. The water closet as claimed in claim 3, wherein the foot rest is positioned lower than a side rim of the toilet bowl.
5. The water closet as claimed in claim 3, wherein the foot rest is detachable with respect to the toilet bowl.
6. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, wherein a weir of the siphoning section is configured for maintaining a water seal at substantially the same level as a top surface of the pan section.
7. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressurised cistern is coupled to a pressurised water supply.
8. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressurised cistern comprises a flush valve disposed between the cistern and the siphoning section for controlling a flow of flush water.
9. The water closet as claimed in claim 1, wherein the toilet bowl further comprises a channel for directing cleaning water to an interior surface of the toilet bowl.
10. The water closet as claimed in claim 10, wherein the cleaning water is supplied from the cistern.
11. The water closet as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cleaning water is supplied simultaneously with the flush water.
12. The water closet as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cleaning water is supplied separately from the flush water.
13. The water closet as claimed in claim 10, wherein the channel comprises a nozzle disposed at an outlet of the channel.
14. The water closet as claimed in claim 14, wherein the nozzle is detachable from the outlet of the channel.
15. The water closet as claimed in claim 14, wherein the nozzle is made of a plastic material suitable for injection moulding.
16. A method for manufacturing a water closet, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a substantially elongated toilet bowl, the toilet bowl comprising a pan section disposed at a first end and a siphoning section disposed at the opposing end for siphoning waste out of the toilet bowl; and
- providing a pressurised cistern for storing flush water for releasing into the siphoning section;
- wherein the pressurised cistern is disposed in a space substantially below the pan section and adjacent to the siphoning section.
17. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising pivotally coupling a toilet seat to the toilet bowl, the toilet seat configured to rest above the toilet bowl in a lowered position.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising providing a foot rest on either side of the toilet bowl, wherein the foot rest is elevated with respect to a floor.
19. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the foot rest is positioned lower than a side rim of the toilet bowl
20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the foot rest is detachable with respect to the toilet bowl.
21. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising configuring a weir of the siphoning section for maintaining a water seal at substantially the same level as a top surface of the pan section.
22. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising providing a flush valve between the cistern and the siphoning section for controlling a flow of flush water.
23. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising providing a channel for directing cleaning water to an interior surface of the toilet bowl.
24. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprising providing a nozzle at an outlet of the channel.
25. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the nozzle is detachable from the outlet of the at least one channel.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 8, 2009
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2011
Inventors: Ee Pin Chern (Singapore), Wei Long Alex Koh (Singapore)
Application Number: 13/063,180