DESCRIPTION

The present invention concerns the technical sector of access devices to be applied to public utility service doors.

More in detail, the present invention concerns a sanitary access device applicable to public toilet doors.

One of the greatest health risks connected to the use of public toilets consists in the hands of the user touching access devices (handles, latches) allowing to lock the doors from inside.

In fact, if the surfaces of said devices are not properly sanitized they may determine bacterial contamination of the user's hands and consequently of his/her intimate areas, during the act of fulfilling his physiological needs.

It is the aim of the present invention to overcome this problem by the realization of a sanitary access device for public toilet doors that allows the reversible locking of the doors of said public toilets from inside without the need of direct contact with the hands of the user.

The aim set forth is obtained by means of a sanitary access device for public toilet doors according to main independent claim 1. Further features of the device according to the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

The device according to the present invention produces the following important advantages: it allows the user to reversibly lock from the inside the doors of public toilets without using his/her hands; it allows the used to avoid bacterial contamination of his/her hands and/of his/her intimate areas due to the contact with non-sanitized surfaces of handles, latches etc of the doors of public toilets; it allows the user to easily recognize the condition of occupied/free of public toilets; it may be indifferently applied to the doors of new production of pre-existing, of public toilets.

Further features and advantages of the device according to the present invention will be described more in detail according to the following specification and the enclosed drawings in which a preferred but not limiting embodiment is shown, in which:

SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) - figures 1, 2, 3 show perspective views the interna! and outer structural shape of a sanitary access device for public toilet doors according to the present invention;

- figures 4, 5 show perspective views the resting and operating phases of said device;

- figures 6, 7, 8 show perspective and plane views of the realization details of said device;

- figures 9, 10 show perspective views of a variant of said device.

Relating now to the details of the figures, a sanitary access device for public toilet doors P mainly comprises: - a sliding bar 1;

- an activation pedal 2 that may be operated by the user with his/her foot and that makes said bar slide upwards to reach its working position and the consequent locking of said door P from the inside of the toilet in use by the client;

- a deactivation button 3 that may be operated by the user with his/her elbow or his/her shoulder and that determines the sliding downwards of said bar 1, the restoring of its resting position and the consequent unlocking of said door P from the inside of the toilets in use by the client;

- an end part 4 that engages the upper end of said bar 1 when it reaches its working position; - a mechanism 5 that holds said bar 1 in its working position;

- a housing 6 that receives said bar 1, said pedal 2, said button 3 and said mechanism 5.

Relating to the details of the figures, a sanitary access device for public toilet doors P further comprises a mechanism 7 that visually indicates the condition of available or occupied of the public toilet chosen.

Said bar 1 comprises:

- a cogwheel gear 8 that produces its upward sliding movement and the following attainment of its working position; - a return spring 9 that generates its downward sliding movement and the following returning to its resting position;

- guides 10 integral with the back wall of said housing 6 and that allow the upward and downward sliding movement thereof;

- a pin 11 integral with said sliding bar 1, acting as a fixing point for one of the ends of said return spring 9.

Said pedal 2 comprises a gear wheel gear 12 associated to said cogwheel gear 8 of said bar 1. Said button 3 comprises a hinge 13 integral with the back wall of said housing 6 and that allows the tilting movement following to the pressure exerted on it by the user, and to be a fixing point for one of the ends of said return spring 9.

Said end part 4 comprises a seat 14 that receives the upper end of said bar 1 when it reaches its working position.

Said mechanism 5 comprises:

- a wedge 15 on a U-shaped support 16, integral with said button 3;

- a bracket 17 with inverted L-shape, the short part whereof is perpendicular to and integral with said sliding bar land the long part whereof is free and parallel to said bar 1;

- an inverted U-shaped support 18, integral with the back wall of said housing 6 internally provided with a couple of elastic arch shape elements 19, 20 that include the short portion of said bracket 17, and provided at the top with a spring 21.

Said wedge 15 exerts a braking action on the long portion of the bracket 17 that prevents the downward sliding of bar 1, integral with it.

Said elastic elements 19, 20 exert a counter-thrust action on said short part of said bar 17 that limits the upward or downward sliding excursion of said bar 1 and at the same time softens the sliding movement.

When said spring 21 is normally expanded it keeps said button 3 in raising position and said wedge 15 in contact position with the long part of said bracket 17, thus assuring the working position reached by said bar 1 due to the upward sliding movement generated by said gear 8-12 of said bar 1 and of said pedal 2.

When said spring 21 is compressed by said button 3, instead, it allows the tilting movement of said button 3 on said hinge 13 and the detachment of said wedge 15 from the long portion of said bracket 17, thus allowing said bar 1 to reach its resting position due to the downward sliding movement generated by said return spring 9.

Said mechanism 7 comprises:

- a plate 2 integral with said bar 1, arranged on the outer side of said toilet door P, of a colour showing that the toilet is occupied, and provided with sectors 23 with a colour showing that the toilet is free;

- a plaque 24 suitable to receive said plate 22, provided with windows 25 for the visualization of the colour of said plate 22 or of said sectors 23. Said bar 1 comprises sections S that may be reciprocally connected by bolts B and that allow the adjusting of the height and the consequent adaptation of the device to doors P of public toilets of any height. Obviously said bar 1 may also be realized at predetermined heights so as to allow the direct application of the device to doors P with standard height of public toilets.

Said end part 4 is arranged on the inner side of the upper crosspiece of doors P of public toilets, which said housing 6 is provided on the inner side of doors P of public toilets and on the same vertical of said end part 4.

Said housing 6 comprises telescopic sections (not shown) that allow the height variation and the consequent adaptation of the device to doors P of any height. Obviously, said housing 6 may also be realized with predetermined heights so that said device may be applied directly to standard height doors P of public toilets.

The device according to the present invention and as hereto described may be applied to doors P of public toilets of the swing type, which:

- have their opening sense towards the outside of the toilet;

- comprise means for manual opening (handle bars, etc) that may be operated with the wrist or with the elbow and arranged on the side facing the outside of the public toilet;

- comprise automatic closing means (accompanying arms etc.) arranged on the side facing the outside of the public toilet.

The device according to the present invention may be applied to doors P of public toilets, of the booklet type or of the sliding type.

The working and use of the sanitary access device for public toilet doors P according to the present invention may be described as follows. Mechanism 7 indicated the available condition of the toilet chosen by the user, showing the colouring of sectors 23 of plate 22 (e.g. green) through windows 25 of plaque 24 placed on the outside of respective door P:

By means of manual (not shown) means placed on the outside, the user opens door P and enters the toilet chosen, while the automatic (not shown) means, also arranged on the outside, automatically close the door P behind the user.

The user pushes pedal 2 with one foot causing - through gears 8-12 - said bar 1 to slide upwards until it reaches its working position, the insertion of its upper end into seat 14 of said end part 4 and thus the blocking of door P of the toilet chosen, from the inside.

Through said wedge 15 that is in contact with the long portion of said bracket 17, said mechanism 5 exerts a braking function on said bar 1, thus preventing it from a downward sliding movement, guaranteeing the maintenance of the working position of bar 1 and the consequent maintenance of the locking of the door P, so as to allow the user to fulfil his/her physiological needs with the necessary intimacy and for the necessary time.

Mechanism 7 indicates the momentary occupied condition of the toilet used, showing the colour of plaque 22 (e.g. red) through windows 25 of plaque 24 arranged on the outer side of said door P, following to its upward sliding caused by bar 1, integral to it. When the user has fulfilled his/her physiological needs, pushes button 3 with his/her elbow or hi/her shoulder and temporarily disengages said mechanism 5.

By contrasting the lifting thrust exerted by spring 21 on it, button 3 causes the temporary detachment of the wedge 15 from the long portion of bracket 17 and, consequently, the downward sliding of bar 1 until it reaches its resting position, the extraction of its upper end from seat 14 of end part 4 and therefore the unlocking of door P. The downward sliding of bar 1 is generated by return spring 9, put into tension by the previous upward sliding of said bar 1. Through elastic elements 19,20, mechanism 5 exerts a counter-thrust action on the short portion of said bracket 17 that limits the upward or downward sliding excursion of bar 1 and at the same time softens the sliding movement.

The user opens door P pushing it with his/her shoulder and leaves the toilet.

Mechanism 7 indicates now the new condition of "free" of the toilet already used showing the colour of sectors 23 of plaque 23 through windows 25 of plaque 24 arranged on the outer side of door P following to its downward sliding determined by said bar 1, integral therewith.

In a possible embodiment variant of the device according to the present invention, specific for doors P of public toilets raised with respect to the floor and lowered with respect to the top of the frames (usually known as "half-doors"), the device further comprises: - a locking tooth 26 carrying cogwheel gear 27 and that can be arranged on rotating pins 28 arranged in turn at the opposite sides of said sliding bar 1 and integral with the back wall of said housing 6; rack gears 29 associable with cogwheel gear 27 of said locking tooth 26, arranged on opposite sides on a support 30 integral with said sliding bar 1, and that determine the reversible extraction of said locking tooth 26 from said housing 6; eyelets 31 for the passage of said locking tooth 26, arranged on the sides of said housing 6; a (not shown) end part that receives said locking tooth 26 when it reaches its extraction position, arranged on the internal side of a door jamb of toilet door P, in correspondence of the closing side of the same.

In such embodiment variant:

- sliding bar 1 is adapted to the height of doors P through sections S that may be reciprocally connected by bolts B;

- housing 6 is adapted to the height of doors P through modular or telescopic (not shown) sections;

- blocking tooth 26 is turned in the direction of the closing side of doors P through pin 28 and rack gears 29 corresponding to said direction.

This means that the upward sliding of bar 1, determined by pedal 2, produces the rotation of blocking tooth 26 on the corresponding pin 28 through gears 27, 29; the extraction of blocking tooth 26 from housing 6 through corresponding eyelet 31; and thus, the locking of doors P on the jamb corresponding to the closing side directly or through a (not shown) end part provided on said jamb.

Vice versa, the downward sliding of bar 1 determined by button 3, produces the counter-rotation of said blocking tooth 26 on said pin 28 through gears 27, 29, the retraction of said blocking tooth 26 in said housing 6 through said eyelet 31 and thus the unlocking of doors P from the jamb corresponding to their closing side.

By means of the device according to the present invention, the user will be able to fulfil his/her physiological needs in a condition of absolute hygiene without ever touching with his/her hands any part of door P of the public toilet used.