Semi-hidden toilet water flushing handle system

Abstract

A semi-hidden system for the water flushing handle of toilets that forces the user to lower the lid or lid and seat before activating the flushing of the cistern. The flushing handle is embedded in the front wall of the cistern in such a way that a portion of the handle is covered by the lid of the toilet when the lid is raised, forcing users to close the lid in order to be able to flush, and thus substantially reducing the emission of infectious and polluting bioaerosols. The system aims to contribute to preventive medicine and to improve health worldwide by avoiding contagion of diseases. The toilet lid and seat, which combine with the semi-hidden flushing system, complement the innovative system with fast soft-closing hinges. This invention can be used in public restrooms, homes, hospitals, hotels, schools, and other environments where sanitation is a high priority.

Claims

1. A semi-hidden water flushing handle system for a toilet having a lid, a seat, and a cistern, said cistern having a front wall, said system comprising a single-piece handle responsible for flushing the water, wherein said single-piece handle comprises an elongated arm attached to a cylindrical pivot, said elongated arm having a tip, and wherein said handle is embedded in the front wall of the toilet cistern in such a way that said elongated arm is covered by the lid of the toilet when said lid is raised, said tip is fully covered by the lid of the toilet when said lid is raised, and said cylindrical pivot is fully exposed even when the lid of the toilet is raised, forcing users to close the lid in order to be able to flush.

2. A toilet comprising: a) a cistern having a front wall; b) a lid and a seat; c) hinges that allow the lid to drop in two to three seconds; and d) a single-piece water flushing handle formed by an elongated arm and a cylindrical pivot, said elongated arm having a tip, where the elongated arm, when actuated, is responsible for flushing the water; wherein said handle is embedded in the front wall of the toilet cistern in such a way that said elongated arm is covered by the lid of the toilet when said lid is raised, said tip is fully covered by the lid of the toilet when said lid is raised, and said cylindrical pivot is fully exposed even when the lid of the toilet is raised, forcing users to close the lid in order to be able to flush.

3. The toilet of claim 2 further comprising a mechanical timer to delay the water flush, allowing time for the lid to be fully closed before flushing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the SEMI-HIDDEN TOILET WATER FLUSHING HANDLE SYSTEM, according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the SEMI-HIDDEN TOILET WATER FLUSHING HANDLE SYSTEM, according to the present invention, showing how the lid covers the elongated arm and only the cylindrical button (pivot point) is visible.

(3) FIG. 3 is an enlargement of part A of FIG. 2, showing the handle part in more detail.

(4) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the SEMI-HIDDEN TOILET WATER FLUSHING HANDLE SYSTEM, according to the present invention, with the toilet lid partially open, showing how the complete water flushing handle becomes fully accessible when the lid is lowered.

(5) FIG. 5 is a front view of an embodiment of the SEMI-HIDDEN TOILET WATER FLUSHING HANDLE SYSTEM, according to the present invention, with the toilet lid lowered, showing how the complete handle becomes accessible when the lid or seat is lowered.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) Conventional toilets usually have a water flushing mechanism that is easily accessible and operable by the user. However, the use of these systems generates in each water flush the emission of bioaerosols, which are particles of water, feces, urine, and pathogenic germs such as bacteria and viruses. These bioaerosols are highly contaminating and represent a health risk to people and in the environment, causing the spread of infectious diseases transmitted through urine-oral and fecal-oral transmission. The present invention consists of a semi-hidden toilet water flushing handle system that forces the user to lower the toilet lid or lid and seat before activating the water flush from the cistern. This is achieved by strategically hiding a part of the handle (lever) behind the toilet lid when raised, while leaving another part of the handle (the pivot or cylindrical button) visible so that the user can easily understand how to use it without the need for explanatory signs. An elongated arm, hidden behind the toilet lid when the lid or lid and seat are raised, prevents access to it unless the lid or lid and seat are lowered, and a visible cylindrical button, connected to the elongated arm of the water flushing handle, which is the pivot point of the handle, and which, unlike the elongated arm, remains visible even when the toilet lid is raised, so that the user intuitively knows how to activate the flush. The toilet lid and seat, which combine with the semi-hidden system, complement the innovative system with soft-closing hinges. Adjusting/manufacturing the hinges of the covers and seats for an extremely fast dropping of 2 to 3 seconds is preferred. To further improve the effectiveness of the system, a timer can be added so that it delays the flush for a few seconds to allow time for the lid to finish closing before flushing. An example of implementation of this timer would be to place it inside the toilet cistern, interconnected between the flush valve and the flush handle. Other timer systems may also be applied without departing from the spirit and scope of the following invention, which a person of ordinary skill in the art could derive from the teachings of this specification.

(7) The system technically achieves: a) Completely eliminating the transmission and contagion of thousands of diseases through the fecal-oral and urine-oral routes (directly or indirectly) derived from the infectious microscopic bioaerosol column (formed by fecal particles and pathogen germs) from toilets (invisible to the naked eye), to avoid the spread and transmission of diseases. b) Preventing in many cases deaths in all the inhabitants of the world, regardless of place, country, sex, age and purchasing power. c) Avoiding the huge suffering of contracting some of the diseases detailed below. d) Decreasing the death rate worldwide, and also a great economic benefit for public health: the governments of each country will spend less on hospital care.

Diseases Transmitted Via the Fecal-Oral and Urine-Oral Routes

(8) Following is a list of mild, severe and fatal infectious diseases transmitted by the fecal-oral and urine-oral routes, through the pathogenic germs that generate them (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, etc.). It is important to highlight that this list of 47 diseases is not exhaustive and definitive. In reality, there are even more, generated by thousands of existing strains, so the number of diseases to avoid is measured in the hundreds or thousands. By way of example, in a single flushing of water, feces can contain up to 200 Rotavirus cells, 20 billion Shigella Bacteria and 100,000 parasite eggs. 1. Hookworm disease Infectious agent that produces it: nematode/worm/parasite. Hookworm disease caused by Necator americanus. Ancylostoma duodenale. Ancylostoma brasiliense. Ancylostoma ceylanicum. Symptoms: anemia, abdominal pain, cough, bloody diarrhea, fatigue, fever, rash, excessive weight loss, lung problems, gastrointestinal problems, heart failure, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 2. Balantidiasis Infectious agent that produces it: protozoon. Balantidium coli. Symptoms: diarrhea with blood and pus, nausea and vomiting, excessive weight loss, severe dehydration, high fever, headache, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 3. Botulism Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Clostridium botulinum Symptoms: abdominal pain, constipation, vomiting, fatigue, blurred or double vision, difficulty speaking, swallowing and breathing, muscle paralysis, loss of reflexes, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 4. Mononucleosis Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Cytomegalovirus. Symptoms: fever, fatigue, sore throat, muscle aches, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 5. Cholera Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Vibrio cholerae. Symptoms: intense diarrhea, severe dehydration, vomiting, muscle cramps, hypovolemic shock, blood pressure alteration, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 6. Ebola Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Ebola virus. Symptoms: pain in the abdomen, headache, throat, joints, muscles and chest. Dehydration, fever, diarrhea, vomiting blood, coughing up blood, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 7. Strongyloidiasis Infectious agent that produces it: ascarid. Strongyloides stercoralis. Symptoms: cough, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 8. Bacillary and Amoebic Dysentery Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Shigella for Bacillary Dysentery, and Amoeba called Entamoeba histolytica for Amebic Dysentery. Symptoms: bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, colic, fever, dehydration, cramps, excessive weight loss, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 9. Enteritis caused by Rotavirus Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Rotavirus. Symptoms: abdominal pain, cramps, colic, excessive weight loss, watery diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 10. Enteritis caused by Adenovirus Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Adenovirus. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 11. Enteritis caused by Campylobacter Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Campylobacter. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 12. Enteritis caused by Yersinia Enterocolitica Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Yersinia. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 13. Enterocolitis caused by Clostridium Difficile Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Clostridium difficile. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 14. Enterocolitis caused by Enterovirus Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Enterovirus. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 15. Norwalk Gastroenteritis Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Norwalk. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 16. Acute viral gastroenteritis Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Norovirus. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 17. Acute bacterial gastroenteritis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Helicobacter Pylori (high degree of lethality). Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 18. Giardiasis Infectious agent that produces it: protozoan parasite. Giardia. Symptoms: chronic diarrhea, impaired mental and physical development, lactose intolerance, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 19. Hantavirus Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Hantaviridae. Symptoms: high and hemorrhagic fever, headache, muscle aches, cough, lung problems, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 20. Hepatitis A Infectious agent that produces it: Highly contagious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis A virus. Symptoms: Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and low-grade fever. Joint pain, headache, inflammation of the liver. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 21. Hepatitis B Infectious agent that produces it: Serious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus. Symptoms: Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and low-grade fever. Joint pain, headache, inflammation of the liver. Cirrhosis, liver cancer. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 22. Hepatitis E Infectious agent that produces it: Liver disease caused by the Hepatitis E virus. Symptoms: Symptoms include jaundice, lack of appetite, and nausea. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 23. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. E. coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 24. Enteroinvasive Escherichia Coli Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Escherichia coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 25. Enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Escherichia coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 26. Escherichia Coli Enterotoxins Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Escherichia coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 27. Enteroaggregative Escherichia Coli Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Escherichia coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 28. Escherichia Coli Diffuse Adhesion Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Escherichia coli Symptoms: Cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, severe bleeding, intestinal infections, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 29. Cryptosporidiosis Infectious agent that produces it: parasite. Cryptosporidium. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood in the urine, bladder pain, high fever, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 30. Isospora Infectious agent that produces it: parasite. Isospora Belli. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, dehydration, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 31. Bacillus cereus Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Bacillus Cereus. Symptoms: emetic syndrome or diarrheal syndrome. Fever, dehydration, abdominal pain, headache, bloody stools, abdominal cramps, poisoning, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 32. Clostridium perfringens Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria with eight lethal toxins. Clostridium. Symptoms: watery diarrhea, nausea, colic, abdominal pain, headache, poisoning, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 33. Staphylococcus Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Bacilli. Symptoms: skin infections, boils, blood infections, bone infections, lung infections, poisoning, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 34. Klebsiella Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. pneumoniae. Symptoms: urinary and biliary tract infections, osteomyelitis, meningitis, septicemia, pneumonia, fever, tachycardia, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 35. Malaria Infectious agent that produces it: parasite. Plasmodium. Symptoms: abdominal pain, muscle pain. Fatigue, fever, tremors, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, tachycardia, confusion, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 36. Epidemic Pleurodynia or Bornholm Disease Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Enterovirus. Symptoms: intense pleural and chest pain. Abdominal pain, fever, myocarditis, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 37. Salmonellosis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Salmonella. Symptoms: diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, muscle pain and headache, dehydration, bloody diarrhea, excessive weight loss, fatigue, chills, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 38. Poliomyelitis Infectious agent that produces it: virus. poliovirus. Symptoms: atrophy, fatigue, fever, dizziness, muscle loss, slow growth, headaches, nausea, vomiting. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 39. Rubella Infectious agent that produces it: virus. Rubella. Symptoms: fever, nasal congestion, headache, body aches, enlarged neck lymph nodes, body rashes, cardiac disorders, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, etc. Severity level: mild and severe. 40. Typhoid Fever Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Salmonella typhi. Symptoms: abdominal pain, muscle aches, headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, fever, fatigue, chills, extreme weight loss, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 41. Shigellosis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Shigella. It has 3 strains. Symptoms: bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, intestinal fever. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 42. Trachoma Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Chlamydia trachomatis. Symptoms: blindness (main infectious disease globally). Other symptoms: conjunctivitis, eye irritations. Severity level: mild and severe. 43. Trichuriasis Infectious agent that produces it: parasite. Trichuris trichiura. Symptoms: abdominal pain, anemia, malnutrition, bloody diarrhea, rectal prolapse, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 44. Tuberculosis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Koch's bacillus. Symptoms: chest pain, headache, coughing up blood, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, breathing difficulties, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 45. Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Vibrio Parahaemolyticus. Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal and headache pain, nausea, vomiting, fever etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 46. Intestinal or extraintestinal yersiniosis Infectious agent that produces it: bacteria. Yersinia. Symptoms: severe diarrhea, fever, cramps, intestinal pain, etc. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal. 47. COVID-19 Infectious agent that produces it: infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Symptoms: headache, shortness of breath, chills, muscle aches, pneumonia, fever, cough, tiredness, loss of taste or smell. Severity level: mild, severe and fatal.

Superbugs

(9) The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a list of superbugs for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. The list includes the 12 most dangerous and deadly families of bacteria worldwide, 7 of which will be mentioned below as they can be transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and 2 via the fecal-oral and urine-oral route. Said published list is a new tool to guarantee that research and development, such as the work carried out in this patent where we developed a preventive product for disease transmission and a complement to medication, responds to urgent global public health needs.

(10) The WHO divides them into three categories based on the urgency in which new antibiotics, drugs, etc. are needed: critical, high or medium priority.

(11) The critical priority group includes multi-resistant bacteria that can cause serious and often fatal infections, such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia.

(12) The second and third levels of the list (the high and medium priority categories) contain other bacteria that exhibit increasing drug resistance and cause common diseases and food poisoning such as salmonella, etc.

(13) Predictions suggest that by the year 2050 superbugs can cause 10 million deaths per year worldwide and many of these diseases are of great concern and impact for the United States, for instance.

(14) Priority 1: CRITICAL

(15) Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant: Can be transmitted via fecal-oral or urine-oral route. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant: Can be transmitted via fecal-oral or urine-oral route. Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, ESBL producers: Can be transmitted by the fecal-oral route.
Priority 2: HIGH Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant: Can be transmitted via fecal-oral route. Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant (MRSA), with intermediate sensitivity and resistance to vancomycin: Can be transmitted via fecal-oral route. Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant: An infectious agent mentioned earlier in the List of Diseases. Can be transmitted via fecal-oral route. Campylobacter spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant: A disease mentioned earlier in the List of Diseases. Can be transmitted via fecal-oral route. Salmonellae, fluoroquinolone-resistant: A disease mentioned earlier in the List of Diseases. Can be transmitted via fecal-oral route.
Priority 3: MEDIUM Shigella, fluoroquinolones-resistant: A disease already mentioned above in the List of Diseases. It can be transmitted by the fecal-oral route.

(16) In addition, outside the WHO list, there is a strain of superbug called CRE that belongs to the group of Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenems-resistant and is lethal in 50% of cases. It is of great concern to public health because current drugs (between 26 and 28 antibiotics used) do not provide the required result. This strain was classified as a Nightmare Bacteria by the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Tom Frieden. The CRE superbug can be transmitted through fecal-oral and urine-oral routes. The West Virginia Public Health Office indicated that infected patients often have the bacteria on their skin or hands and spread it through urine, feces, or wounds.

(17) Some general aspects of the present invention have been summarized so far in the first part of this detailed description and in the previous sections of this disclosure. Hereinafter, a detailed description of the invention as illustrated in the drawings will be provided. While some aspects of the invention will be described in connection with these drawings, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. The specific materials, methods, structures, and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting. Instead, the intended function of this disclosure is to exemplify some of the waysincluding the presently preferred waysin which the invention, as defined by the claims, can be enabled for a Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art. Therefore, the intent of the present disclosure is to cover all variations encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims, and any reasonable equivalents thereof.

(18) With reference to the drawings in more detail FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the toilet (1) with the lid (3) raised. In this view, Soft-closing hinges (8) are shown and it can be appreciated how the semi-hidden handle (5) embedded in the front wall (4) of the cistern (2) is partially covered by the lid (3). The elongated arm (6) of the handle (5) remains hidden and inaccessible, while its cylindrical button (pivot) (7) is fully visible and exposed. Other embodiments have other shapes, and the pivot (7) does not necessarily need to have the shape of a cylindrical button as shown in this embodiment. What is important to all embodiments is that a part of the handle is hidden behind the lid (3) and another part is visible, preferably being the hidden part necessary to actuate the flush, so that the user is forced to lower the lid (3) to activate it. Additionally, in FIG. 2 we can see a front view of the toilet (1) with the lid (3) raised. Here, the lid (3) covers the elongated arm (6) of the handle (5) and only its cylindrical button (pivot) (7) is visible. The front wall (4b) of the cistern (4), where the handle (5) needs to be placed, is shown. Soft-closing hinges (8) are also shown in the figure. Adjusting/manufacturing the hinges (8) for an extremely fast dropping of two to three seconds is preferred.

(19) On the other hand, FIG. 3 is an enlargement of part A of FIG. 2, in which the semi-hidden handle (5) can be seen in more detail. The hidden part of the handle, its elongated arm (6), is shown in dashed lines, indicating that it is hidden behind the toilet lid (3).

(20) In FIG. 4, a perspective view of the toilet with the lid (3) partially open is shown. In this view, it is completely clear how the complete handle (5, 6, and 7) becomes accessible to the user when lowering the toilet lid (3) with use of the Soft-closing hinges (8).

(21) Finally, FIG. 5 presents a front view of the toilet with the lid (3) lowered. In this view, it can be observed how the complete handle (5, 6, and 7) is fully accessible so that the user can lower the toilet lid comfortably and easily.

(22) The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit and scope of the forthcoming claims.