OPEN-RIM TOILET WITH PORTS AND OPENINGS IN THE RIM AND A WIDER DISCHARGE CHANNEL ENTRANCE TO PREVENT BLOCKAGE BY WASTE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toilet comprising an open-rim toilet bowl which combined construction elements generate a unique combination, the implication of which is obtaining a performance that balances the capacity to evacuate solid waste and light floating load while inside the sanitary ware, in addition to the ability to drag waste through the drainage line. In the same way, the toilet of the present invention is intended to minimize the loss of hydraulic potential supplied to it during the flushing action, from the entrance of water through the inlet tray towards a set of flushing ports located in the rim and windows that direct the water in a specific manner, generating a combined effect of floating and inertial release of the heavy load into the well, facilitating the progressive entry of the load into the discharge channel for its evacuation. Thus, said toilet maximizes the result of the previously defined effect, by providing a balance between the formal attributes of a flush action toilet.

Claims

1. An open-rim toilet comprising: a main body (1) having a base (11) located in the lower part thereof; a bowl (2) located above the base (11), having an access entrance (21) extending around the contour of the upper part of the toilet, and having an upper surface (22) extending from the front to the rear part of the toilet; an inlet tray (3) located in the upper part of the bowl (2) below the upper surface (21) thereof, towards the rear of the toilet, where said inlet tray (3) has a tray inlet (31) and a tray outlet (32); a rim (4) located in the upper internal part of the bowl (2) and which communicates fluidly with the outlet (32) of the inlet tray (3), wherein said rim (4) is open and is distributed along the access entrance (21) of the bowl (2), while having a series of ports (41) and windows (42) for water direction; and an S-shaped discharge channel or trapway (5) located at the bottom of the bowl (2), having an inlet (51) and an outlet (52), wherein the inlet level (51) locates above the outlet level (52), comprising some brakes (54) arranged along the trapway (5), and having an intermediate point or weir (53) above the inlet (51) and outlet (52) level; wherein the bowl (2) has a geometrization defined by: $\frac{{\mathrm{A\_WM}}_i}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}=\left[2.05-3.05\right];\frac{\mathrm{A\_WL}}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}=\left[3.25-3.35\right];\frac{{\mathrm{A\_WT}}_i}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}=\left[1.33-2\right]$ where i={1,2,3}, and A_WM.sub.i corresponds to the area described by the water mirror leveled with the weir (53) of the discharge channel or trapway (5), cross-section area of the bowl (2) at the level of the highest point of the inlet (51) or dam and cross-section area of the bowl (2) at the level of the intermediate point of the inlet (51) in the discharge channel or trapway (5); A_WL.sub.1 corresponds to the longitudinal area of the bowl (2); A_WT.sub.i corresponds to three vertical areas; and A_TWPI.sub.1 corresponds to the area in the inlet (51) of the discharge channel (5), y where the orientation of the rim ports (41) is arranged pointing to an upper quartile (Q1) of the area described by the entrance to the discharge channel (3), a second quartile (Q2) of the plan area of the water mirror at the level of the spillway or weir (53) of the discharge channel or trapway (5), and a third quartile (Q3) of the plan area of the water mirror at the level of the discharge channel (5) weir (53).

2. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the inlet tray (3) has an internal volumetry geometrization of the flow area defined by
A_WB.sub.L>A_WB.sub.Ti where i={1,2,3,4,5}, and A_WB.sub.Ti and A_WB.sub.TL correspond to cross-section and longitudinal areas of said inlet tray (3), and wherein i=1 corresponds to the area in the inlet (31) and i=5 corresponds to the area in the outlet (32).

3. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the inlet (31) of the tray (3) is located in the upper part of the toilet and is in direct contact with a water source, and the outlet (32) of the tray (3) is in fluid communication with inside of the bowl (2).

4. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the entrance (51) to the discharge channel or trapway (5) has a sufficient amplitude to reduce the probability of clogging the same.

5. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the discharge channel or trapway (5) has a conical distribution in its cross-sectional area.

6. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the discharge channel or trapway (5) contains two control points or brakes (54), where the change in curvature and concavity of the discharge channel (5) is greater.

7. The open-rim toilet according to claim 1, wherein the rim (4) has six ports (RP1, RP2, RP3, RP4, RPS, RP6) and two windows (RW1, RW2), where ports RP3 and RP4 are arranged pointing at the first quartile (Q1) of the discharge channel (3), ports RP2 and RP5 are arranged pointing at points in the second quartile (Q2) of the plan area of the water mirror leveled with the discharge channel (5) weir, and ports RP1 and RP6 are arranged pointing at points located in the third quartile (Q3) of the plan area of the water mirror leveled with the discharge channel (5) weir.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The present invention is more clearly understood from the following drawings where the components associated with this toilet are shown, as well as the novel elements relative to the state of the art, where the figures are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is solely defined by the appended claims, wherein:

[0027] FIG. 1 corresponds to a side view of the open-rim toilet of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 2 corresponds to a plane rear view of the open-rim toilet of FIG. 1.

[0029] FIG. 3 corresponds to a plane top view of the open-rim toilet of FIG. 1.

[0030] FIG. 4 corresponds to a cross-sectional view of the open-rim toilet of FIG. 1.

[0031] FIG. 5 corresponds to a reverse general perspective view of the toilet of the present invention, where the elements that are usually hollow are shown, in order to show the internal parts of said toilet.

[0032] FIG. 6 corresponds to a detailed view of the toilet discharge channel as shown in FIG. 5.

[0033] FIG. 7 corresponds to a diagram of the geometry of the inlet tray being part of the toilet of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 8 corresponds to the inlet tray geometry schematics as shown in FIG. 7, where each area section is shown separately.

[0035] FIG. 9 corresponds to a diagram of the geometry of the rim being part of the toilet of the present invention and its construction elements, where said geometry shows the points of the windows in the rim according to the data illustrated in Table 3.

[0036] FIG. 10 corresponds to a diagram of the geometry of the discharge channel being part of the toilet of the present invention and the location of interpolation points (trajectory and curvature relationship).

[0037] FIG. 11 corresponds to geometrization schemes of the discharge channel as shown in FIG. 10, where each area section is shown separately.

[0038] FIG. 12 corresponds to a diagram of the geometry of the bowl being part of the toilet of the present invention, including the reflecting pool and other areas comprising it.

[0039] FIG. 13 corresponds to bowl geometrization schemes as shown in FIG. 12, where each area section is shown separately.

[0040] FIGS. 14A and 14B are illustrations of the areas and quartiles of the areas where the annulus ports point at, wherein FIG. 14A shows the area of the discharge channel entry point, while FIG. 14B shows the upper area of the water mirror in the bowl.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0041] The present invention is directed to an open-rim toilet that has a performance that balances the capacity for evacuation of solid waste and light floating load inside the sanitary apparatus, which also has an excellent capacity for dragging waste, it being achieved due to a series of configurations of the components of said toilet, different from the existing in the state of the art, as will be defined below.

[0042] In this regard, FIGS. 1 to 4 specifically show the open-rim toilet of the present invention with its respective design and functioning characteristics which make it different from those existing in the state of the art, wherein said toiled comprises, in general, the following parts or components: [0043] A main body (1) having a base (11) located in the lower part thereof and that comes into contact with the ground where the toilet is installed; [0044] A bowl (2) located above the base (11) of the main body (1), wherein said bowl (2) is intended to receive the residues or waste through the access entrance (21) that extends around the contour of the upper part of the toilet, and features an upper surface (22) extending from the front to the rear part of the toilet; [0045] An inlet tray (3) located in the upper part of the bowl (2) below the upper surface (21) thereof, towards the rear of the toilet, where said inlet tray (3) is the one that receives the water to discharge the waste into the bowl (2) and has a tray inlet (31) and a tray outlet (32), wherein the tray inlet (31) is located at the back of the toilet and comes into direct contact with the water source (not shown) (either a flushometer or a water storage tank, or another source), while the outlet of the tray (32) communicates fluidly with the inside of the bowl (2); [0046] A rim (4) located in the upper internal part of the bowl (2) and which communicates fluidly with the outlet (32) of the inlet tray (3), wherein said rim (4) is open and is distributed along the access entrance (21) of the bowl (2), while featuring a series of ports (41) and windows (42), specifically illustrated in FIG. 5, which direct the water in a specific manner, generating a combined effect of floating and inertial release of the heavy load inside the bowl (2), facilitating the progressive entry of the load into a discharge channel (5) for its evacuation; and [0047] A discharge channel or trapway (5) which is substantially S-shaped located at the bottom of the bowl (2), where said discharge channel or trapway (5) has an inlet (51) and an outlet (52) which levels are in a different plane, preferably, the input level (51) is above the output level (52), as illustrated in FIG. 6, and a series of brakes (54) arranged along the entire trapway (5), that is, between the inlet (51) and the outlet (52), where the discharge channel or trapway (5) also has an intermediate point (53) above the level of the inlet (51) and the outlet (52) during its trajectory that works as a weir.

[0048] Thus, the present invention defines an open-rim toilet whose combined construction elements generate a unique combination different from those toilets existing in the state of the art, with which a performance is obtained that balances the capacity for evacuation of solid waste and a light floating load inside the toilet, in addition to a considerable increase in the capacity to carry waste through the drainage line.

[0049] Preferably, the toilet of the present invention intends in its configuration to minimize the loss of hydraulic potential supplied to the toilet during the flushing action, from the entrance of water through the inlet tray (3) towards a set of discharge ports (41) located in the rim (4) and windows (42) directing the water in a specific manner generating a combined effect of floating and inertial release of the heavy load inside the bowl (2), facilitating the progressive entry of the load to the discharge channel or trapway (5) for its respective evacuation.

[0050] In this sense, the toilet of the present invention maximizes the result of the previously defined effect through a balance between the formal attributes of a flush action toilet (commonly known as Washdown) with specific attributes of siphonic action toilets, featuring a combination of highly efficient properties.

[0051] Specifically, the toilet of the present invention has a series of characteristics and properties that differ from the state of the art, among which is the distribution of its bowl (2) with a configuration that minimizes the amount of water therein, thus facilitating a horizontal and stacking distribution of the waste elements contained by the bowl (2), and an entrance to the discharge channel or trapway (5) which is wide, whose objective is to reduce the probability of clogging in the entrance (51) of said discharge channel or trapway (5) to the extent that the load begins its entry during the discharge action.

[0052] In the same way, the toilet of the present invention has a volumetric distribution of the bowl (2) that maximizes the surface of the water mirror at the bottom of said bowl, so that the load does not adhere to the walls of the bowl (2) making its evacuation difficult, and a configuration of the discharge channel or trapway (5) that is in S, where the level of the entrance (51) of the channel (5) is above the level of its outlet (52), such as previously indicated, while the discharge channel or trapway (5) has an intermediate point (53) which level is above the level of the inlet (51) and the outlet (52) during its trajectory that works as a weir.

[0053] Thus, the previous condition of the discharge channel or trapway (5) generates the basic geometric and physical conditions to promote the appearance of a physical effect of partial vacuum pressure during the discharge, called siphonic action, inside said channel (5), thus generating a sustained evacuation of the heavy load, drying of the well and, consequently, an evacuation of the floating load in an adequate manner, that is, progressive and with less possibility of clogging.

[0054] In accordance with the foregoing, to facilitate the generation and sustaining of the aforementioned siphonic action, the discharge channel or trapway (5) has a conical distribution in its cross-sectional area and a characteristic trajectory; some specific control points, preferably two, where the change in curvature and concavity of the discharge channel or trapway (5) are inverted, where said control points correspond to brakes (54) as clearly illustrated in FIG. 6, which generate a flow restriction effect thus facilitating the process of priming the siphon.

[0055] Now, below, the ranges that allow the geometrization of the constituent elements of the toilet of the present invention are described, their relationships and relevant geometric characteristics which allow obtaining a superior and different product with respect to those existing in the state of the art or commercially available. Thus, the configuration and sequence of intervention of the construction elements, in addition to the generation of combined effects on the flow of water that flows therethrough, are the basis of the novelty on which the invention described in this document is based.

[0056] Specifically, the geometry of the internal volumetry of the flow area of the inlet tray (3) can be described based on the following expressions, where the related areas are represented in FIG. 7:

A_WB.sub.L>A_WB.sub.Ti

[0057] Where i=[1,2,3,4,5], while the geometric relationship of the cross-sectional areas A_WB.sub.Ti vs transversal A_WB.sub.TL of said input tray (3), is defined in Table 1 below. For greater clarity, FIG. 8 shows the aforementioned cross-sectional areas so that those skilled in the art can demonstrate the same and their relationship within the inlet tray (3).

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Geometric relationship of transversal areas A_WB.sub.Ti vs transversal A_WB.sub.TL, as shown in FIG. 8. Area i A_WB.sub.Ti/A_WB.sub.L 1 [25-27]% 2 [19-21]% 3 [21-23]% 4 [21-23]% 5 [21-24]%

[0058] On the other hand, the basic geometry of the profile for the rim (4), the relative position of the location of the rim windows (42), the rim discharge ports (41) and the rim feeding areas (4) are illustrated in FIG. 9. Likewise, the following tables show the unitary proportions between the length of the rim vs. its width, using the length of the rim as a reference, and the unitary length of the segments with respect to the length of the rim (4) profile perimeter.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Length and width of the rim (4) expressed as a unitary measure with respect to the length of said rim (4). Rounded Profile. Elongated Profile Dimension Value (unitary) Value (unitary) Rim Length 1 1 Rim Width 0.73 0.84

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Perimeter spacing length around the rim profile of the constituent elements, rim window (42), rim discharge port (41) and rim feeding port, according to the points shown in FIG. 9. Segment Round Profile Elongated Profile RW1-RP1 0.051-0.053 0.047-0.049 RP1-RP2 0.059-0.061 0.055-0.057 RP2-RP3 0.025-0.027 0.023-0.025 RP3-RF1 0.048-0.050 0.045-0.047 RF1-PR0 0.048-0.050 0.045-0.047 RP0-RF2 0.025-0.027 0.023-0.025 RF2-RP4 0.059-0.061 0.055-0.057 RP4-RP5 0.051-0.053 0.047-0.049 RP5-RP6 0.028-0.030 0.026-0.028 RP6-RW2 0.55-0.57 0.58-0.60 RW2-RW1 0.051-0.053 0.047-0.049 TOTAL ~1 ~1

[0059] Thus, the general relationship between the outlet (32) cross-sectional areas of the inlet tray (3) A_WB.sub.T5, the rim discharge ports (41) (A_RP0.sub.T, A_RP1.sub.T, A_RP2.sub.T, A_RP3.sub.T, A_RP4.sub.T, A_RP5.sub.T), the rim windows (42) (A_RW1.sub.Ty A_RW2.sub.T) and the rim (4) feeding areas (A_RF1.sub.T and A_RF2.sub.T) are described in the following table.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Geometrization of rim feeding ports RF (0.13) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP1.sub.T (0.145) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.025) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP2.sub.T (0.026) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.029) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP3.sub.T (0.030) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.029) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP4.sub.T (0.029) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.027) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP5.sub.T (0.028) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.13) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RP6.sub.T (0.145) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.085) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A.sub.RP0.sub.T (0.095) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.019) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RW1.sub.T (0.020) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.014) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RW2.sub.T (0.015) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.24) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RF1.sub.T (0.26) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 (0.24) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5 A_RF2.sub.T (0.26) .Math. A_WB.sub.T5

[0060] The relationship between the different cross-sectional areas that describe the geometry of the bowl (2) is listed in the following table, where the areas of interest are defined below: [0061] Area in the inlet (31) of the discharge channel (3), A_TWPI.sub.1. [0062] Area defined by the water mirror A_WM.sub.1 leveled with the discharge channel or trapway (5) weir. [0063] Cross-section area of the bowl (2) at the level of the dam A_WM.sub.2. [0064] Cross-section area of the bowl (2) at the level of the intermediate point (53) in the discharge channel or trapway (5) A_WM.sub.3. [0065] Longitudinal area of the bowl (2) A_WL.sub.1. [0066] Three vertical areas, A_WT.sub.1, A_WT.sub.2 y A_WT.sub.3. [0067] Upper and cross-section areas of the bowl (2), against the area of the discharge channel (3) inlet (31).

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Relationship between the cross-section areas forming the bowl (2) according to the geometrization shown in Figures 12 and 13. Section [00001]$\frac{{\mathrm{A\_WM}}_i}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}$ [00002]$\frac{\mathrm{A\_WL}}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}$ [00003]$\frac{{\mathrm{A\_WT}}_i}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}$ A_WM.sub.1 [2.95-3.05] A_WM.sub.2 [2.05-2.1] A_WM.sub.3 [2.15-2.2] A_WL [3.25-3.35] A_WT.sub.1 [1.95-2] A_WT.sub.2 [1.85-1.9] A_WT.sub.3 [1.33-1.36]

[0068] In a preferred embodiment, the orientation of the rim ports (41) can be described by pointing to points respectively located in the upper quartile (Q1) of the area described by the entrance to the discharge channel (3) (illustrated in FIG. 14A and which corresponds to A_TWPI.sub.1), where the ports (41) defined at points RP3 and RP4 (shown in FIG. 9) point to that first or upper quartile (Q1) of said area A_TWPI.sub.1.

[0069] In the same way, the orientation of the ports (41) defined in points RP2 and RP5 (shown in FIG. 9) aim at the points in the second quartile (Q2) of the plan area of the water mirror at the level of the spillway or weir of the discharge channel or trapway (5) (illustrated in FIG. 14B and corresponding to area A_WM.sub.1), while ports (41) defined at points RP1 and RP6 (shown in FIG. 9) aim at the points located in the third quartile (Q3) of the plan area of the water mirror at the level of the discharge channel weir (5) (illustrated in FIG. 14B and corresponding to area A_WM.sub.1), where the second quartile corresponds to the second section of the area shown in FIG. 14B from left to right, while the third quartile corresponds to the second section of the area shown in FIG. 14B from right to left.

[0070] This arrangement of the rim (4) ports (41) allows for a more effective discharge in the present configuration and a more suitable and efficient cleaning system for the bowl (2), since it allows the discharge water to be distributed throughout said bowl (2).

[0071] Now, in relation to the discharge channel (5) illustrated in FIG. 5, in the trajectory of said component, the different interpolation points thereof [PI.sub.1 . . . PI.sub.17] (FIG. 10) and the brakes (54) of the channel (5) are shown in FIG. 10 and the relationships between the perpendicular areas [A_TWPI.sub.1 . . . A_TWPI.sub.17] (FIG. 11) to the trajectory in each of the control points or brakes (54), can be described by the following relationships and tables:

[0072] The following Tables 6 and 7 show the relative position references between the PI interpolation points in the path of the discharge channel or trapway (5), as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. The dimensions indicated are dimensionless, defined with respect to the unitary reference of the height from the floor to the rim (4) and using the center of the outlet (52) of the discharge channel or trapway (5) as a coordinate reference.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Relative position ranges of the discharge channel (5) interpolation points PI.sub.i. PI x y PI1 [0.1789; 0.1924] [0.2459; 0.2985] PI2 [ 0.0998; 0.1073] [0.2696; 0.3205] PI3 [0.029; 0.031] [0.4046; 0.4461] PI4 [0.114; 0.106] [0.4891; 0.5248] PI5 [0.179; 0.166] [0.5316; 0.5643] PI6 [0.242; 0.225] [0.5412; 0.5732] PI7 [0.299; 0.278] [0.5151; 0.0581] PI8 [0.338; 0.314] [0.4422; 0.0465] PI9 [0.349; 0.325] [0.3338; 0.0348] PI10 [0.327; 0.304] [0.2566; 0.2503] PI11 [0.280; 0.260] [0.2225; 0.2069] PI12 [0.224; 0.208] [0.2023; 0.1882] PI13 [0.170; 0.158] [0.1307; 0.1215] PI14 [0.145; 0.134] [0.0885; 0.0823] PI15 [0.091; 0.085] [0.0795; 0.0739] PI16 [0.023; 0.022] [0.0530; 0.0493] PI17 0 0

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Ratio of the cross-sectional areas of the discharge channel (5) at points PI.sub.i A_TWPI.sub.i [00004]$\frac{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_i}{{\mathrm{A\_TWPI}}_1}$ 1 1 2 [0.81-0.83] 3 [0.66-0.68] 4 [0.65-0.665] 5 [0.675-0.685] 6 [0.65-0.75] 7 [0.65-0.7] 8 [0.475-0.525] 9 [0.42-0.45] 10 [0.425-0.44] 11 [0.465-4.475] 12 [0.47-0.48] 13 [0.51-0.53] 14 [0.59-0.61] 15 [0.49-0.51] 16 [0.54-0.55] 17 [0.77-0.79]

[0073] In this sense, the trajectory of the discharge channel or trapway (5) features an inversion in its curvature in the segment included between points [PI2-PI3], describing the elevation of the discharge channel or trapway (5) from the inlet (51) towards the discharge channel weir.

[0074] According to the data included in the previous tables, the first brake (54) can be described as the portion of the discharge channel or trapway (5) between points [PI11-PI13], where the change in curvature defining it occurs between points [PI11-PI12]. Likewise, the second brake (54) can be described as the portion of the discharge channel or trapway (5) between points [PI13-P15], where the change in curvature defining it occurs between points [PI13-PI14] and the change defining its closure occurs between points [P14-P15].

[0075] The terms comprising or including used throughout this document are understood to be extensive and not limiting, that is, that the present invention may comprise other additional components, which are not specifically defined within the present specification, but which are obviously used for the respective operation of the device, apparatus or system, and are clear for those skilled in the art.

[0076] Although the above description defines the preferred embodiments of the present invention, different modifications that may be evident to those skilled in the art are also contemplated within the scope of this document, where said scope is in no way limited to the preferred embodiments, but it is defined solely by the appended claims and the subject matter contained therein.