HYGIENIC TOILET

Disclosed herein is a hygienic toilet. The hygienic toilet includes: a toilet body; a lower seat; an upper seat configured to be disposed on the top of the lower seat and to rotate; a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the upper seat; a seat movement unit including: a link member coupled such that the lower portion of the link member is hinged to the back portion of the toilet body in a state in which the upper portion of the link member has been hinged to the back portion of the lower seat; and a link member spring configured to apply elastic force to the link member; a cleaning unit configured to be mounted on the toilet body; and a movement delay unit configured to move the upper seat a standby location between the cleaning location and the seating

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Description
BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a hygienic toilet, and more specifically to a hygienic toilet that enables the seat of a toilet, which comes into direct contact with the body of a user, to be maintained in a clean state.

2. Description of the Related Art

Since the seat of a common toilet comes into direct contact with the body of a human when the human relieves himself or herself, it requires cleanliness. In particular, a toilet for a public restroom is used by a number of unspecified people. Accordingly, it requires more cleanliness, but it is difficult to maintain a clean state.

In the case where a manager is placed in order to maintain the cleanliness of a toilet, it is difficult to maintain the immediate cleanliness of the toilet after use, and also it is difficult to sterilize various germs generated in the toilet after use.

Efforts have been made to automatically clean or sterilize the seat of a toilet in order to maintain the cleanliness of the seat of the toilet. As an example of this, Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-2002-0005155 discloses an “Unmanned Automatic Washing Public Restroom and System in which Toilet Seat is rotated.”

According to the disclosed technology, a rotatable rotary wall is installed below a partition wall, and a pair of toilet seats are symmetrically mounted on both sides of the rotary wall. Accordingly, after the flush toilet has been used in a toilet area, the rotary wall is automatically rotated and thus the toilet seat used is rotated into a cleaning area and then cleaned. However, the unmanned automatic washing public restroom configured as described above is problematic in that it requires a relatively large installation space, and thus there is a limitation to popularization.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a hygienic toilet that can automatically clean an upper seat when a user stably sits on the upper seat, relieves himself or herself, and then moves out of the upper seat, thereby maintaining cleanliness and also increasing convenience.

In order to accomplish the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hygienic toilet including: a toilet body; a lower seat configured in a shape the center of which is open, and to be disposed on the top of the toilet body; an upper seat configured in a ring shape, and configured to be disposed on the top of the lower seat and to rotate based on the center of the lower seat; a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the upper seat; a seat movement unit including: a link member coupled such that the lower portion of the link member is hinged to the back portion of the toilet body so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis in a state in which the upper portion of the link member has been hinged to the back portion of the lower seat so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis; and a link member spring configured to apply elastic force to the link member; a cleaning unit configured to be mounted on the toilet body in a corresponding state above the back of the upper seat so as to clean a surface of the upper seat while the upper seat is being rotated by the rotation drive unit after being moved to the cleaning location; and a movement delay unit configured to move the upper seat from the cleaning location to a standby location between the cleaning location and the seating location, and to delay the movement of the upper seat.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hygienic toilet including: a toilet body; a lower seat configured in a shape the center of which is open, and configured to be disposed on the top of the toilet body; an upper seat configured in a ring shape, and configured to be disposed on the top of the lower seat and to rotate based on the center of the lower seat; a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the upper seat; a link member coupled such that the lower portion of the link member is hinged to the back portion of the toilet body so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis in a state in which the upper portion of the link member has been hinged to the back portion of the lower seat so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis; a cleaning unit configured to be mounted on the toilet body in a corresponding state above the back of the upper seat so as to clean a surface of the upper seat while the upper seat is being rotated by the rotation drive unit after being moved to the cleaning location; and a link member drive unit configured to reciprocate the upper seat between the seating location and the cleaning location as the link member is rotated around the lower portion in a front-back direction, and to maintain the upper seat for a set cleaning time in a state in which the upper seat has been moved to the cleaning location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hygienic toilet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cleaning unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the seat movement unit and the movement delay unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the pressing lever shown in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are side sectional views illustrating the operation of the hygienic toilet shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 9 is a side view of a hygienic toilet according to another embodiment of the present invention.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, the same components are designated by the same reference symbols. Redundant descriptions, and detailed descriptions of well-known functions and components that may make the gist of the present invention unnecessarily obscure will be omitted. Embodiments of the present invention are provided merely to more completely describe the present invention to those having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, in the drawings, the shapes, sizes, etc. of components may be exaggerated in order to more clearly describe the components.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hygienic toilet according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cleaning unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the seat movement unit and the movement delay unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the pressing lever shown in FIG. 5. FIGS. 7 and 8 are side sectional views illustrating the operation of the hygienic toilet shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, a hygienic toilet 100 includes a toilet body 110, a lower seat 120, an upper seat 130, a rotation drive unit 140, a seat movement unit 150, a cleaning unit 160, and a movement delay unit 170.

The toilet body 110 is configured to collect the urine and/or faces of a user and then wash away the urine and/or faces via a trap by using water flowing from the inside thereof. The lower seat 120 is formed in a shape the center of which is open, and is disposed on the top of the toilet body 110. The lower seat 120 supports the upper seat 130 that is rotated above the lower seat 120.

The lower seat 120 is configured such that the center opening thereof is circular. The lower seat 120 is formed in a shape that can completely cover the bottom of the upper seat 130. The lower seat 120 has the same shape as the upper seat 130, and is further shaped to have a pair of flanges 121 protruding behind the upper seat 130. The lower seat 120 may be formed in a shape in which the rear portion thereof protrudes from the upper seat 130 in an angular shape, and thus the shape of the lower seat 120 is not limited thereto.

The upper seat 130 is formed in a ring shape, and is disposed on the top of the lower seat 120. The inner and outer circumferences of the upper seat 130 concentrically form circles, and the upper seat 130 forms a ring shape having a predetermined width. The upper seat 130 is rotated around the center of the lower seat 120. Accordingly, the overall surface of the upper seat 130 may be cleaned through the cleaning unit 160.

The rotation drive unit 140 rotates the upper seat 130. As an example, the rotation drive unit 140 may include a bearing 141, a driven gear 142, a drive gear 143, and a rotation motor 144.

The bearing 141 supports the rotation of the upper seat 130 with respect to the lower seat 120. The bearing 141 may include a thrust bearing. The thrust bearing may be configured such that balls or rollers are accommodated between an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner ring is fastened to the upper seat 130 and the outer ring is fastened to the lower seat 120, thereby supporting the rotation of the upper seat 130 with respect to the lower seat 120.

The driven gear 142 is formed on the upper seat 130 in the rotation direction of the upper seat 130. The driven gear 142 may be formed to have gear teeth along the inner circumferential surface of the inner ring of the bearing 141. As another example, the driven gear 142 may be configured to have gear tooth along the outer circumferential surface of a ring member, and may be fastened to the inner circumferential surface of the inner ring bearing 141.

The drive gear 143 is formed to be rotated in the state of being engaged with the driven gear 142, thereby rotating the upper seat 130. The drive gear 143 may be disposed to be rotated around a vertical axis, and may be engaged with the driven gear 142.

The rotation motor 144 rotates the drive gear 143. The drive shaft of the rotation motor 144 is coaxially fastened to the drive gear 143 in a state in which the motor body has been fastened to the lower seat 120, and, thus, may transfer rotation drive force to the drive gear 143.

The rotation motor 144 may be controlled by a control unit configured to control the overall operation of the hygienic toilet 100. The movement of the upper seat 130 to a cleaning location may be detected by a proximity sensor, and information detected by the proximity sensor may be provided to the control unit. When the control unit determines that the upper seat 130 has moved to the cleaning location, the control unit may allow the upper seat 130 to make one rotation by controlling the rotation motor 144. The rotation location of the upper seat 130 may be detected by a location sensor. The control unit may control the rotation motor 144 based on information detected by the location sensor.

The seat movement unit 150 allows the upper seat 130 to reciprocate between the seating location and the cleaning location, and includes a link member 151 and a link member spring 152.

The lower portion of the link member 151 is hinged to the back portion of the toilet body 110 so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis in a state in which the upper portion of the link member 151 has been hinged to the back portion of the lower seat 120 so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis, and thus the link member 151 guides the upper seat 130 through reciprocation between the seating location and the cleaning location. In this case, the seating location of the upper seat 130 is the location where the lower seat 120 comes into contact with the top of the toilet body 110, and the cleaning location of the upper seat 130 is the location where the upper seat 130 comes into contact with the cleaning brush 163 of the cleaning unit 160.

The upper portion of the link member 151 may be coupled to the flange 121 of the lower seat 120 by a hinge shaft, and the lower portion of the link member 151 may be coupled to the support 176 of the toilet body 110 by a hinge shaft. The support 176 and a cleaning case 161 to be described later may be integrated into a single box shape. In this case, a cleaning region and a support region are separated from each other by a partition.

The link member 151 may guide the upper seat 130 through movement to the cleaning location by guiding the lower seat 120 through raising and backward movement from the seating location of the upper seat 130, and may guide the upper seat 130 through movement to the seating location by guiding the lower seat 120 through raising and forward movement from the cleaning location of the upper seat 130.

The link member spring 152 applies elastic force to the link member 151 in the direction in which the upper seat 130 is moved to the cleaning location. The link member spring 152 is elastically deformed when a user sits on the upper seat 130 at a standby location, and moves the upper seat 130 to the cleaning location by means of elastic force when the user exits from the state of sitting on the upper seat 130. The link member spring 152 may include a torsion spring. The link member spring 152 may be fitted is into the lower hinge coupling center of the link member 151, with one end thereof being fastened to the link member 151 and the other end thereof being fastened to the toilet body 110.

According to the seat movement unit 150, when a user sits on the upper seat 130 at a standby location, relieves herself, and then moves out of the upper seat 130, the upper seat 130 may be moved to the cleaning location, and may be cleaned by the cleaning unit 160. The seat movement unit 150 may include a pair of seat movement units, and, thus, may stably guide the lower seat 120 through movement. Corresponding link members 151 may be disposed at later intervals, and may connect the lower seat 120 to the toilet body 110. Corresponding link member springs 152 may be installed to apply elastic force to the link members 151.

The cleaning unit 160 is mounted on the toilet body 110 in a corresponding state above the back of the upper seat 130 so as to clean the surface of the upper seat 130 while the upper seat 130 is being rotated by the rotation drive unit 140 after being moved to the cleaning location. As an example, the cleaning unit 160 may include a cleaning case 161, a cleaning nozzle 162, a cleaning brush 163, and a drying brush 164.

The cleaning case 161 is formed in a shape the bottom of which is open, and is mounted on the toilet body 110. The cleaning case 161 is disposed to correspond to the upper portion of the back of the upper seat 130 when the upper seat 130 is moved to the cleaning location. The cleaning case 161 accommodates and supports the cleaning nozzle 162, the cleaning brush 163, and the drying brush 164.

The cleaning nozzle 162 is controlled such that it sprays a cleaning solution onto a surface of the upper seat 130 inside the cleaning case 161 when the upper seat 130 has been moved to the cleaning location. The cleaning solution may include an antiseptic solution, water, or the like. The cleaning nozzle 162 may receive a cleaning solution from a cleaning solution supply source, and may spray the cleaning solution. When the control unit determines that the upper seat 130 has been moved to the cleaning location based on information detected by the proximity sensor, the control unit may spray a cleaning solution from the cleaning nozzle 162 by controlling the valve of the cleaning nozzle 162.

The cleaning brush 163 is disposed behind the cleaning nozzle 162 within the cleaning case 161 based on the rotation direction of the upper seat 130, and cleans the surface of the upper seat 130 when the upper seat 130 is rotated. The cleaning brush 163 may wipe away contaminants attached onto the surface of the upper seat 130 together with the cleaning solution sprayed onto the surface of the upper seat 130, thereby cleaning the surface of the upper seat 130 and also removing the cleaning solution. The cleaning brush 163 may be made of an elastic rubber material or the like in order to facilitate the cleaning of the upper seat 130 and the removal of the cleaning solution. The cleaning brush 163 may be formed in the shape of a wiper blade.

The cleaning brush 163 may be supported from a ceiling within the cleaning case 161 by a brush spring 163a configured to apply elastic force downward. When the cleaning brush 163 cleans the upper seat 130, it may be pressed to the surface of the upper seat 130, and may further enhance the effect of cleaning the surface of the upper seat 130.

The drying brush 164 may be disposed behind the cleaning brush 163 inside the cleaning case 161 based on the rotation direction of the upper seat 130, and may remove moisture from the surface of the upper seat 130. The drying brush 164 may remove moisture remaining on the upper seat 130 via the cleaning brush 163, thereby drying the surface of the upper seat 130.

The drying brush 164 may be made of a material having excellent absorbing and drying properties, such as fiber or the like, in order to easily absorb and evaporate moisture on the surface of the upper seat 130. The drying brush 164 may be formed in the shape of a wiper blade.

The drying brush 164 may be supported from the ceiling within the cleaning case 161 by a brush spring 164a configured to apply elastic force downward. When the drying brush 164 cleans the upper seat 130, it may be pressed to the surface of the upper seat 130, and may further enhance the effect of removing moisture.

The movement delay unit 170 moves the upper seat 130 from the cleaning location to the standby location between the cleaning location and the seating location, and delays the movement of the upper seat 130. The distance from the standby location to the cleaning location may be set to a distance shorter than that from the standby location to the seating location, but the setting is not limited thereto.

In detail, when the upper seat 130 is placed at the cleaning location, the back portion of the upper seat 130 may be hidden by the cleaning case 161 and may not be viewed. In this state, when a user sits on the upper seat 130, he or she may feel anxious. The movement delay unit 170 lowers the upper seat 130 from the cleaning location to the standby location so that the back portion of the upper seat 130 can be viewed by the user, thereby enabling the user to feel stable rather than feeling anxious when the user sits on the upper seat 130.

As described above, when the upper seat 130 is rapidly moved while the upper seat 130 is being moved from the cleaning location to the standby location, the upper seat 130 may be moved to the standby location in the state of being not sufficiently cleaned. The movement delay unit 170 delays the movement of the upper seat 130 when the upper seat 130 is moved from the cleaning location to the standby location, thereby enabling the upper seat 130 to be sufficiently cleaned.

The movement delay unit 170 may delay the movement of the upper seat 130 so that the upper seat 130 can be cleaned for about four seconds without movement. When the seat movement unit 150 includes a pair of seat movement units, the movement delay unit 170 may include a pair of movement delay units, and the movement delay units may be allocated to the seat movement units 150, respectively.

For example, the movement delay unit 170 may include a pressing lever 171, a pressing lever spring 172, a guide roller 173, a wire 174, and air cushions 175.

The lower portion of the pressing lever 171 is coaxially and rotatably coupled to the lower hinge coupling center of the link member 151 in a state in which the upper portion of the pressing lever 171 corresponds to the center portion of the link member 151. The pressing lever 171 may be rotatably coupled to a location off-centered from the lower hinge coupling center of the link member 151. The pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151 as it is rotated toward the link member 151 by the pressing lever spring 172.

In a state in which the link member 151 has been rotated upward and moved to a backmost position in order to move the upper seat 130 to the cleaning location, the upper portion of the pressing lever 171 may be spaced apart from the link member 151. Accordingly, the upper portion of the pressing lever 171 may be delayed for the time for which it is moved over a distance from the backmost position to the link member 151 toward the link member 151, and may then press the link member 151. As a result, the upper seat 130 may finish cleaning at the cleaning location in a state without movement, and may then move to the standby location.

The upper portion of the pressing lever 171 may be bent backward in an approximately sideways “U” shape. In this case, the length by which the upper portion of the pressing lever 171 is bent backward may be set to a value that allows the upper portion order to be spaced apart from the link member 151 at the backmost position so that delay time can be secured according to target time.

The pressing lever spring 172 applies elastic force to the pressing lever 171 in the direction in which the pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151. Accordingly, the pressing lever 171 may rotate the link member 151 by means of the elastic force of the pressing lever spring 172 so that the link member 151 approaches the toilet body 110. The pressing lever spring 172 may include a torsion spring. The pressing lever spring 172 may be fitted in the hinge coupling center of the pressing lever 171, with one end thereof being fastened to the pressing lever 171 and the other end thereof being fastened to the toilet body 110. The elastic force of the pressing lever spring 172 may be set to a value that counterbalances the tension of the wire 174 and the elastic force of the link member 151 at the standby location of the upper seat 130.

The guide roller 173 is laterally and horizontally disposed above the pressing lever 171, and is supported on the toilet body 110. The guide roller 173 may be supported on the support 176 fastened to the toilet body 110. The left and right ends of the guide roller 173 may be supported in a fixed or rotatable manner. Although the guide roller 173 is illustrated as having a cylindrical shape, it may be a fixed pulley.

In a state in which the wire 174 has been wound around the guide roller 173 so that the upper seat 130 can be maintained at the standby location, one end of the wire 174 is fastened to the pressing lever 171, and the other end of the wire 174 is fastened to the link member 151. The wire 174 may include two strands of wire. The first ends of the strands of wire 174 may be fastened to both edges of the pressing lever 171, and the second ends of the strands of wire 174 may be fastened along with the link member 151. The wire 174 has a length that can ensure tightness at the standby location of the upper seat 130.

When the upper seat 130 is moved from the standby location to the seating location, the wire 174 may separate the pressing lever 171 from the link member 151 by pulling the pressing lever 171. In this case, the pressing lever spring 172 is elastically deformed. When the upper seat 130 is moved from the seating location to the cleaning location and the link member 151 is located at the backmost position along with the pressing lever 171, the wire 174 becomes loose. In this state, when the pressing lever 171 moves the upper seat 130 to the standby location by pressing the link member 151, the wire 174 becomes tight, and the upper seat 130 can be maintained at the standby location.

The air cushions 175 delay the rotation of the pressing lever 171 when the pressing lever 171 is rotated in a pressing direction. In other words, when the pressing lever 171 is rotated forward in order to press the link member 151 in the state of being located at the backmost position, the air cushions 175 enable the pressing lever 171 to be slowly rotated by resisting the rotation of the pressing lever 171. Accordingly, the movement of the upper seat 130 may be delayed by maintaining the upper seat 130 at the cleaning location until the pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151.

The air cushions 175 may be supported on the left and right sides of the support 176 in an extendable manner along the rotational trajectory of the pressing lever 171. Support holes 176a may be formed on the left and right sides of the support 176 along the rotational trajectory direction of the pressing lever 171. The air cushions 175 may be installed in the support holes 176a of the support 176 in order to prevent separation. The left and right portions of the pressing lever 171 may be fastened to the back portions of the air cushions 175.

As an example, each of the air cushions 175 may include a cushion bag 1751 and a cushion spring 1752. The cushion bag 1751 has an internal space, and is made of a flexible material. The pressing lever 171 may be fastened to the back portions of the cushion bags 1751. The cushion bags 1751 are retracted from an extended state when they are pressed by the pressing lever 171, and are extended from a retracted state and restored when pressing by the pressing lever 171 is released.

Each of the cushion bags 1751 may have an air entry 1751a configured to enable air to selectively enter and exit the internal space. The air entry 1751a discharges the internal air of the cushion bag 1751 to the outside when the cushion bag 1751 is retracted, and sucks external air into the cushion bag 1751 when the cushion bag 1751 is extended, thereby facilitating the extension and retraction operations of the cushion bag 1751. The cushion bag 1751 has a shape in which the sectional area of the internal space increases backward, and thus delay time can be maximized until the pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151.

The cushion spring 1752 applies elastic force in a direction in which the cushion bag 1751 is extended. The cushion spring 1752 may include a compression spring, and may be installed to surround the outer circumferential surface of the cushion bag 1751 in a spiral shape. In this case, the cushion bag 1751 may have a spirally corrugated shape. As another example, the cushion spring 1752 may be installed inside the cushion bag 1751, and the cushion bag 1751 may have a shape that is corrugated at predetermined intervals.

The air cushions 175 may operate, as follows. When the pressing lever 171 presses the extended cushion bags 1751 while being rotated from the backmost position in a direction in which the pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151, the cushion bags 1751 are retracted while delaying the rotation of the pressing lever 171 by means of the resistance of internal air and the elastic force of the cushion springs 1752. In this case, the cushion bags 1751 are retracted until the pressing lever 171 moves the upper seat 130 to the standby location. During this process, the cushion bags 1751 may be desirably retracted because internal air is discharged via the air entries 1751a.

In this state, when the pressed state of the cushion bags 1751 is released as the upper seat 130 is moved from the standby location through the seating location to the cleaning location and thus the pressing lever 171 is located at the backmost position, the cushion bags 1751 are extended and restored by the cushion springs 1752. During this process, the cushion bags 1751 may be desirably extended because external air is sucked via the air entries 1751a.

An example of the operation of the above-described hygienic toilet 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the back portion of the upper seat 130 is exposed from the cleaning case 161 of the cleaning unit 160 in a state in which the upper seat 130 has been placed at the standby location, a user feels stable when sitting on the upper seat 130. In this case, the pressing lever 171, the link member 151, and the wire 174 are maintained at a balanced state.

In this state, when a user sits on the upper seat 130, the upper seat 130 is guided by the link member 151 through raising and forward movement and moved to the seating location, as shown in FIG. 7. During this process, the link member spring 152 is elastically deformed. Furthermore, the pressing lever 171 is pulled by the wire 174 and separated from the link member 151, and the pressing lever springs 172 are elastically deformed.

When a user relieves himself or herself and is then moved out of the upper seat 130, the upper seat 130 is subjected to the elastic force of the link member spring 152, guided by the link member 151 through raising and backward movement, and moved to the cleaning location, as shown in FIG. 8. During this process, the wire 174 becomes loose as the link member 151 is moved to the backmost position.

When the upper seat 130 is moved to the cleaning location, the cleaning solution is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 162 of the cleaning unit 160 onto the surface of the upper seat 130, and, simultaneously, the upper seat 130 is allowed to make one rotation by the rotation drive unit 140. During this process, the cleaning brush 163 of the cleaning unit 160 wipes away contaminants attached onto the surface of the upper seat 130 together with the cleaning solution sprayed onto the surface of the upper seat 130, thereby cleaning the surface of the upper seat 130 and also removing the cleaning solution. Thereafter, the drying brush 164 may remove moisture from the surface of the upper seat 130.

The upper seat 130 is not moved during cleaning, and is lowered, moved forward, and moved to the standby location as the pressing lever 171 presses the link member 151 by means of the elastic force of the pressing lever spring 172 after cleaning.

During this process, the air cushions 175 enable the pressing lever 171 to be slowly rotated by resisting the rotation of the pressing lever 171. Furthermore, the upper portion of the pressing lever 171 is delayed for the time for which the upper portion is moved over the distance spaced apart from the link member 151 at the backmost position toward the link member 151, the movement of the upper seat 130 to the standby location is stopped, and the upper seat 130 presses the link member 151 at the time at which cleaning is finished while making one rotation at the cleaning location, thereby moving the upper seat 130 from the cleaning location to the standby location. Accordingly, the upper seat 130 may be sufficiently rotated while making one rotation.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the upper seat 130 is moved to the standby location, the wire 174 becomes tight from a loose state. Accordingly, the wire 174 counterbalances the pressing lever 171 and the link member 151, and thus the upper seat 130 may be maintained at the standby location.

The hygienic toilet 100 is configured to automatically clean the upper seat 130 when a user stably sits on the upper seat 130, relieves himself or herself, and then moves out of the upper seat 130, thereby maintaining cleanliness and also increasing convenience. Furthermore, the hygienic toilet 100 may be constructed within a common space where a toilet is installed, thereby being advantageous for popularization.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a hygienic toilet according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the hygienic toilet 200 according to the present embodiment excludes the link member spring 152 and movement delay unit 170 of the hygienic toilet 100 according to the above-described embodiment therefrom, but further includes a link member drive unit 270 therein.

The link member drive unit 270 reciprocates the upper seat 130 between the seating location and the cleaning location as the link member 151 is rotated around the lower portion in a front-back direction. The link member drive unit 270 maintains the upper seat 130 for a set cleaning time, e.g., for about four seconds in a state in which the upper seat 130 has been moved to the cleaning location.

In detail, the link member drive unit 270 rotates the link member 151 in order to move the upper seat 130 to the seating location before a user sits on the upper seat 130, thereby maintaining the upper seat 130 at the seating location in a standby state.

In this state, when a user sits on the upper seat 130, relieves himself or herself, and then moves out of the upper seat 130, the link member drive unit 270 rotates the link member 151 to move the upper seat 130 to the cleaning location. Thereafter, the link member drive unit 270 maintains the upper seat 130 in the state of having been moved to the cleaning location until the upper seat 130 is cleaned while making one rotation at the cleaning location.

Once the cleaning of the upper seat 130 has been finished, the link member drive unit 270 rotates the link member 151 to move the upper seat 130 to the seating location, and maintains the upper seat 130 at the seating location in a standby state.

The link member drive unit 270 may be controlled by the control unit. The control unit may receive information about whether a user sits on the upper seat 130 and then moves out of the upper seat 130 from a sensor, and may perform control so that the link member drive unit 270 operates according to the above-described method.

As an example, the link member drive unit 270 may be configured to include a cylinder. The cylinder is configured such that a cylinder rod 270a is selectively extended and retracted with respect to a cylinder body 270b by means of pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. The cylinder rod 270a is disposed behind the link member 151, and may be coupled to the link member 151 so that the front end thereof can be rotated around a horizontal axis. The back end portion of the cylinder body 270b may be coupled by means of a bracket or the like of the toilet body 110 or toilet body 110 so that the back end portion can be rotated around a horizontal axis.

As the cylinder rod 270a is extended from the cylinder body 270b, the cylinder rod 270a pushes the link member 151 and thus rotates the link member 151 forward. As the cylinder rod 270a is retracted into the cylinder body 270b, the cylinder rod 270a pulls the link member 151 and thus rotates the link member 151 backward.

As another example, the link member drive unit 270 may be configured to include one of various linear actuators, such as a linear motor or the like, or may be configured to include a rotation motor configured to rotate the lower portion of the link member 151.

The hygienic toilet according to the present invention is configured to automatically clean an upper seat when a user stably sits on the upper seat, relieves himself or herself, and then moves out of the upper seat, thereby maintaining cleanliness and also increasing convenience. Furthermore, the hygienic toilet according to the present invention may be constructed within a common space where a toilet is installed, thereby being advantageous for popularization.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, this is merely examples. It will be understood by those having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true scope of the present invention should be defined only based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. A hygienic toilet comprising:

a toilet body;
a lower seat configured in a shape a center of which is open, and configured to be disposed on a top of the toilet body;
an upper seat configured in a ring shape, and configured to be disposed on a top of the lower seat and to rotate based on a center of the lower seat;
a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the upper seat;
a seat movement unit including: a link member coupled such that a lower portion of the link member is hinged to a back portion of the toilet body so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis in a state in which an upper portion of the link member has been hinged to a back portion of the lower seat so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis; and a link member spring configured to apply elastic force to the link member;
a cleaning unit configured to be mounted on the toilet body in a corresponding state above a back of the upper seat so as to clean a surface of the upper seat while the upper seat is being rotated by the rotation drive unit after being moved to the cleaning location; and
a movement delay unit configured to move the upper seat from the cleaning location to a standby location between the cleaning location and the seating location, and to delay movement of the upper seat.

2. The hygienic toilet of claim 1, wherein the movement delay unit comprises:

a pressing lever configured such that a lower portion thereof is coaxially and rotatably coupled to a lower hinge coupling center of the link member in a state in which an upper portion of the pressing lever corresponds to a center portion of the link member;
a pressing lever spring configured to apply elastic force to the pressing lever in a direction in which the pressing lever presses the link member;
a guide roller configured to be laterally and horizontally disposed above the pressing lever and to be supported on the toilet body;
a wire configured such that in a state in which the wire has been wound around the guide roller so that the upper seat can be maintained at the standby location, one end of the wire is fastened to the pressing lever and a remaining end of the wire is fastened to the link member; and
air cushions configured to delay rotation of the pressing lever when the pressing lever is rotated in a pressing direction.

3. A hygienic toilet comprising:

a toilet body;
a lower seat configured in a shape a center of which is open, and configured to be disposed on a top of the toilet body;
an upper seat configured in a ring shape, and configured to be disposed on a top of the lower seat and to rotate based on a center of the lower seat;
a rotation drive unit configured to rotate the upper seat;
a link member coupled such that a lower portion of the link member is hinged to a back portion of the toilet body so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis in a state in which an upper portion of the link member has been hinged to a back portion of the lower seat so that it can be rotated around a horizontal axis;
a cleaning unit configured to be mounted on the toilet body in a corresponding state above a back of the upper seat so as to clean a surface of the upper seat while the upper seat is being rotated by the rotation drive unit after being moved to the cleaning location; and
a link member drive unit configured to reciprocate the upper seat between the seating location and the cleaning location as the link member is rotated around the lower portion in a front-back direction, and to maintain the upper seat for a set cleaning time in a state in which the upper seat has been moved to the cleaning location.

4. The hygienic toilet of claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit comprises:

a cleaning case formed in a shape a bottom of which is open, and configured to be mounted on the toilet body;
a cleaning nozzle configured to be controlled such that it sprays a cleaning solution onto a surface of the upper seat inside the cleaning case when the upper seat has been moved to the cleaning location;
a cleaning brush configured to be disposed behind the cleaning nozzle within the cleaning case based on a rotation direction of the upper seat, and configured to clean the surface of the upper seat and also remove a cleaning solution while the upper seat is being rotated; and
a drying brush configured to be disposed behind the cleaning brush inside the cleaning case based on the rotation direction of the upper seat 130, and configured to remove moisture from the surface of the upper seat.

5. The hygienic toilet of claim 3, wherein the cleaning unit comprises:

a cleaning case formed in a shape a bottom of which is open, and configured to be mounted on the toilet body;
a cleaning nozzle configured to be controlled such that it sprays a cleaning solution onto a surface of the upper seat inside the cleaning case when the upper seat has been moved to the cleaning location;
a cleaning brush configured to be disposed behind the cleaning nozzle within the cleaning case based on a rotation direction of the upper seat, and configured to clean the surface of the upper seat and also remove a cleaning solution while the upper seat is being rotated; and
a drying brush configured to be disposed behind the cleaning brush inside the cleaning case based on the rotation direction of the upper seat 130, and configured to remove moisture from the surface of the upper seat.
Patent History
Publication number: 20190069735
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 31, 2018
Publication Date: Mar 7, 2019
Inventor: You Jin SEO (Seoul)
Application Number: 16/049,996
Classifications
International Classification: A47K 13/30 (20060101);