Toilet seat sanitizing machine for transportation vehicles

Sphere of the invention

This invention has been designed for the field concerning bathroom equipment technology installed on means of transport. In particular, it refers to an innovative toilet seat sanitizing machine for means of public transportation. It has been studied and designed to be situated in a designated technical room, independent from the W.C., and has come about in response to the need of better public W.C. hygiene.

Brief technical notes

Traditional W.C.s, for example those on trains from the early 1980's, are composed of a toilet bowl, seat and lid, and the waste when flushed is directly dispersed onto the railroad tracks below during the journey. Hygiene is completely up to the good sense of the user as no forms of W.C. cleaning and sanitizing existed at the time other than the cleaning carried out when the train was stopped. With new means of transportation, after 2000, aeronautic toilets came into use which have a rotating toilet seat on which a water spout sprays water mixed with a sanitizer, under which a rubber piece turns the seat in such a way as to be hastily sprayed and wiped with the water/sanitizer mix. However, this method does not reach an optimal level of hygiene because hair and fecal matter accumulate in the spout, cracks, and under the seat making hygiene not optimal for those who use the W.C. as well as for the people responsible for their maintenance. Further, the seat is wet after being washed making its use complicated since one must then dry the seat with toilet paper before its use. In Asian countries there are devices that cover the seat in a layer of thin, disposable plastic. Such a solution, however, involves the replacement of a new layer of plastic covering after each use of the W.C., notably increasing the use of plastic materials, not to mention that they contain substances of fecal origin which must be disposed of.

Summary of the Invention

The goal of this present invention is to supply a toilet seat hygiene system that provides more effective automatic sanitizing and cleaning, without users needing to carry out any extra procedures.

It is thus the goal of the present invention to supply a system that is to be installed in a technical area located behind the wall where the toilet is installed, therefore making the system completely independent of the W.C. itself.

Micro maintenance of the machine itself, without occupying the bathroom and interrupting its use in the vehicle, is another goal of the following invention.

These and other objectives are reached with the present invention, including:

A parallelepiped supporting frame (1), to which two guides are fixed horizontally and between their higher parallels (2), inside which a carriage (3) is connected to a sliding support bracket equipped with wheels, run by an electric motor (4) equipped with a pinion that engages on a gear rack (5), the motor and gear rack are protected by a suitable crankcase (6). The seat grouping (0) is connected to the carriage (3). A liquid collection tank (11) is attached to the frame on the underside of the guides (2) which, by a hole (36) refuse runs off into a refuse tank (24). This is equipped with a level sensor which indicates when it is full and needs to be emptied by a pipe (25). Next to the machine a water tank is installed (12) where an emerged water pump is located (23) in the flange (13) of the tank where there is an entrance for water. Two brushes (17) and (18) are located above the carriage, the first driven by a pneumatic piston (8) with a vertical motion, the second driven by an electric motor (9) with a low-speed circular motion made by a belt and pulleys (14). Said motor is connected to the bracket (7) which is also used as a support for the external pneumatic piston (8). The first brush's function (17) is that of spreading the cleaning liquid fed by the pipe (30) on all the parts of the seat grouping in its passage, and to give a first rough cleaning by lowering down on the seat itself, the second (18) is to optimize the cleaning. While this is happening, three jets of water with sanitizer, coming from three nozzles (26) which are located in the inclined wall of the tank underneath, spray the underside of the seat eliminating any dirty residue, as well as wetting the rotating brush (18). The cylinder axis of this turns on bearings installed on reinforced supports (19), located in the lid (10) of the machine. This lid (10) is equipped with one or more holes (37) to permit visual supervision of the process, and further, as it is water and air tight liquid spills are avoided. At the end of the course, the carriage inverts its movement and the second rotating brush (18) goes back over in inverted rotation while the first brush (17) is raised. Once it arrives in proximity of the dividing wall compressed air is sprayed by the diffusor (16) controlled by a solenoid valve (27), which is installed on the piping (28) installed on the seat grouping, drying it slowly. In the meantime, the shutter panel opens (33) by the external pneumatic piston (32) sliding inside the guides (34), and the seat grouping (0) is repositioned on the toilet bowl (15). The shutter panel (33) closes immediately permitting use of the W.C. The installation of a support system (22) for the seat in use-position is opportune. The machine is equipped with a sanitizing liquid dosing device (41) located on the water piping (29) in an easy to access location for the maintenance person.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the machine will be clearer with the following description which follows a manufacturing format, which has been written as example but does not exclude modifications, with references to the attached drawings. Such drawings also show the obligatory modifications to the wall against which the toilet bowl is located as well as the creation of the technical room in which the machine will be located, a room that is already present in the latest generation of trains.

Figure 1 represents a drawing of the machine with the seat group in use position on the bowl.

Fig. 2 represents a drawing of the machine with the seat group in casual position.

Fig. 3 represents a side view section of the machine.

Fig. 4 represents a section of the machine in frontal position from the technical room side.

Fig. 5 represents the frontal view from the bathroom side with a section of the covering panel of the shutter panel operating mechanism

Fig. 6 represents the technical room with the opening in the dividing wall between the bathroom and technical room

Description of the manufacturing of the invention

An example of such a machine, as seen in the graphic tables described above, must be considered as not binding insofar as improvement modifications that do not alter the general function of the machine can be made by professionals in the field. This can be postulated by the fact that the machine may be adapted based on the equipment present in the technical room, if already present in the vehicle. For example, if refuse from the bowl needs to be managed (piping, flush valve, refuse collection tank, etc.).

In any case, the creation of a technical room is mandatory to accommodate the machine, delimited by partitions (20) behind the wall (21 ) against which the toilet bowl is installed. Corresponding to this an opening is shaped on the same wall as shown in fig. 6 part. (40) (view of the technical room), where the machine is backed up against. On the same wall (21 ) an adequate opening is created for the passage of the seat grouping (0) used when the shutter panel is raised (33) by a pneumatic piston (32), in which the shutter panel slides (33) inside the respective guides (34). In the beginning of the washing cycle, the seat grouping (0) is able to move, by the mechanism describe above, into the technical room where the sanitizing machine is located. This is composed of a parallelepiped frame (1) to which two guides are fixed (2), on which a carriage slides (3). Said carriage is powered by an electric motor, for example by a stepping motor (4) equipped with a pinion that engages on a gear rack (5), the motor and gear rack are protected by an adequate crankcase (6). The seat grouping (0) is securely attached to the carriage (3). A liquid collection tank (11) is securely bound to the frame (1) on the underside of the guides (2), where the liquid flows away from a hole (36) into a refuse collection tank (24), installed, for example, on the underside of the mode of transport. It is preferable that this be equipped with a level sensor which can indicate when it is full and needs to be emptied by pipe (25) by maintenance personnel. Next to the machine a water tank is installed (12) with an emerged water pump (23) located in the flange (13) of the tank where there is an entrance for water. Above the carriage two brushes are installed (17) and (18), the first run by a pneumatic piston (8) with a vertical movement and the second run by an electric motor (9) with slow circular movements provided by a belt and pulleys (14). Said motor is connected to the bracket (7) which is also used as a support for the external pneumatic piston (8). The first brush's function (17) is that of spreading the cleaning liquid fed by the pipe (30) on all the parts of the seat group in its passage, and to give a first rough cleaning by lowering down on the seat itself and by means of its rather rigid bristles rubs the seat, the second (18) is to optimize the cleaning. During this, three jets of water with sanitizer, coming from three nozzles (26) which are located in the inclined wall of the tank underneath, spray the underside of the seat eliminating any dirty residue, as well as wetting the rotating brush (18) so that it can then clean the seat with its wet bristles. These bristles are softer than that of brush (17) and therefore more appropriate for a rotating movement on the surface of the seat. The cylindric axis of the brush turns on bearings installed on reinforced supports (19), located in the lid (10) of the machine. This lid (10) is equipped with one or more holes (37) to permit visual supervision of the process, and further, is water and air tight preventing external liquid spills from the machine. At the end of the course, the carriage inverts its movement and second rotating brush (18) goes back over in inverted rotation providing further cleaning while the first brush (17) is raised. Once it arrives near the dividing wall, compressed air is sprayed by the diffusor (16), controlled by a solenoid valve (27), which is installed on the piping (28) installed on the seat group, drying it slowly. When the compressed air is finished, the shutter panel opens (33) by the external pneumatic piston (32) sliding inside the guides (34) and the seat grouping (0) is repositioned on the toilet bowl (15). The shutter panel (33) closes immediately permitting use of the W.C. The installation of a support system (22) for the seat in use position on the bowl is opportune. The machine is equipped with a sanitizing liquid dosing device (41 ) installed on the water piping (29) with an easy to access location for the maintenance person. A covering panel (35) installed on the wall where the toilet bowl (15) is located, and it is shaped in such a way as to hide the opening and closing mechanism of the shutter panel (33). The method and timing of the cleaning process is managed by an electronic control unit that activates the two electric motors, the pneumatic pistons, the pumps, the solenoid valves and whatever else that is necessary. This is installed, for example, in an easy-to-access cupboard in the bathroom. The control unit could begin the cleaning process automatically as soon as a sensor installed in the bathroom registers the moment a user has exited, automatically locking the door until the seat sanitizing process has been concluded. This would allow the machine to work safely and users would always find the seat in the best condition for its next use. Further, the control unit could be attached to the flushing valve inside the toilet, so that the sanitizing could be programed to begin when the toilet is flushed, optimizing the state the seat is in.

This description in manufacturing format does not include all of the piping, electric circuits, and all components for the control of the processes necessary for the manufacture of the machine, like solenoid valves, microswitches, and various kinds of sensors, in order to make the explanation of the machine and its function easier to understand.