Self-cleaning toilet assembly and system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10370838-B2
Application number	US-201715698243-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2017
Priority date	Jul 15, 2013
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

Toilet assemblies having various embodiments of a cleaning system are described herein which include a toilet assembly and a cleaning system. The toilet assembly has a toilet bowl, a toilet tank, a flush valve, a rim inlet port and a rim flow path (which may be an isolated rim path) extending from an outlet of the flush valve to the rim inlet port. The cleaning system has a reservoir for holding a liquid cleaning agent having an outlet port in fluid communication with the interior space of the reservoir body; a housing to receive the reservoir; a supply conduit in fluid communication with the interior of the reservoir; a flow control device capable of controlling flow through the supply conduit; and a control system activatable by an actuator feature, wherein upon activation of the actuator feature, the control system is adapted to initiate a clean cycle by: operating the flow control device for a first period of time sufficient to deliver a dose of a liquid cleaning agent from the supply conduit to an interior space of the flush valve in a closed position, the flush valve configured for delivery of fluid to the rim inlet port, and operating the flush valve to open the flush valve to introduce flush water to carry the dose of a liquid cleaning agent through the rim inlet port into the toilet bowl.

First claim

We claim:

1. A toilet assembly with a cleaning system, comprising:
(a) a toilet assembly comprising
a toilet bowl defining an interior space,
a toilet tank defining a tank interior,
a flush valve,
a rim inlet port and
an isolated rim flow path extending from an outlet of the flush valve to the rim inlet port, wherein the flush valve is configured to deliver fluid to the rim inlet port of the toilet bowl,

wherein the toilet assembly is configured to operate in a normal flush mode to deliver the fluid to the toilet bowl; and
(b) a cleaning system comprising
a reservoir for holding a liquid cleaning agent having a body defining an interior space and having an outlet port in fluid communication with the interior space of the reservoir;
a housing configured to receive the reservoir;
a supply conduit in fluid communication with the interior of the reservoir
and having a first end for receiving fluid from within the reservoir;
a flow control device capable of controlling flow through the supply conduit; and
a control system activatable by an actuator feature, wherein upon activation of the actuator feature, the control system is adapted to initiate a cleaning actuation mode by:
operating the flow control device for a first period of time sufficient to deliver a dose of a liquid cleaning agent from the supply conduit to an interior space of the flush valve in a closed position, the flush valve configured for delivery of fluid to the rim inlet port,
operating the flush valve to open the flush valve to introduce flush water to carry the dose of a liquid cleaning agent through the rim inlet port into the toilet bowl, and
operating the flush valve to deliver the dose of the liquid cleaning agent and flush water over a second period of time,

wherein the toilet assembly is configured to operate in the cleaning actuation mode, and
wherein the cleaning actuation mode is configured to operate independently of the normal flush mode.

2. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a vent line in fluid communication with the interior of the reservoir and configured to have a first end situated to receive entrained air and/or liquid from within the reservoir and a second open end located at least above a height of a full liquid level in the reservoir.

3. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the control system operates to at least partially close the flush valve after delivering the dose of a liquid cleaning agent and flush water through the rim inlet port and into the toilet bowl.

4. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the reservoir has an outlet portion and the outlet port is located in the outlet portion.

5. The toilet assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the housing has a seat portion configured to receive the outlet portion of the reservoir.

6. The toilet assembly according to claim 5 , further comprising at least one peripheral seal so that the outlet portion of the reservoir fits within the seat portion of the housing in sealing engagement.

7. The toilet assembly according to claim 5 , having a vent line in fluid communication with the interior of the reservoir and configured to have a first end situated to receive entrained air and/or liquid from within the reservoir and a second open end located at least above a height of a full liquid level in the reservoir.

8. The toilet assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the assembly further comprises a tube defining a passage therethrough and having an upwardly extending first end and a second end, the first end for directing fluid from the interior space of the reservoir through the passage in the tube and into the first end of the supply conduit, wherein the tube is located in the seat portion.

9. The toilet assembly according to claim 8 , having a vent line in fluid communication with the interior of the reservoir and configured to have a first end situated to receive entrained air and/or liquid from within the reservoir and a second open end located at least above a height of a full liquid level in the reservoir, and wherein the seat portion comprises a first opening for receiving the first end of the vent line and a second opening for receiving the first end of the supply conduit.

10. The toilet assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the first end of the tube is pointed.

11. The toilet assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the first end of the supply conduit is situated within the second end of the tube when the reservoir is situated within the housing.

12. The toilet assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the tube is situated within the seat portion so that when the outlet portion of the reservoir is in the seat portion of the seat, the tube extends through the outlet port of the reservoir and upward within the outlet portion of the reservoir.

13. The toilet assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the tube comprises at least one side opening extending therethrough for fluid entering the upwardly extending end of the tube to flow into a bottom area of the outlet portion.

14. The toilet assembly according to claim 13 , further comprising a liquid supply valve, wherein the outlet port has a peripheral seal capable of being penetrated by the upwardly extending end of the tube or a liquid supply valve fitting, wherein the bottom area of the outlet portion is defined as an area below the peripheral seal when the reservoir is fully seated within the housing, and wherein the upwardly extending end of the tube or the liquid supply valve fitting passes through the peripheral seal when the reservoir is fully seated within the housing.

15. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the flow control device is one of a mechanized valve, a peristaltic pump, a piston pump, a gear pump, and a gear motor.

16. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet port of the reservoir is covered by a frangible cover.

17. The toilet assembly according to claim 16 , wherein the frangible cover comprises a foil, a septum, a foil with a polymeric backing, or a membrane.

18. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a gear motor activatable by the control system for operating the flow control device.

19. The toilet assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a tank lid having an upper surface and configured to be seated on top of the tank, wherein the upper surface of the tank lid is configured to receive the housing and includes an area configured to receive a seat portion of the housing.

20. The toilet assembly according to claim 19 , wherein the tank lid further comprises at least one opening extending therethrough configured for receiving a lock mechanism.

21. The toilet assembly according to claim 20 , wherein the lock mechanism comprises at least one lock body having a first end and a second end, the second end for extending through the at least one opening, wherein the lock mechanism further comprises a locking cap on the first end of the lock body for releasably locking the lock mechanism to secure the tank lid.

22. The toilet assembly according to claim 20 , further having a cover configured to be positioned over the tank lid and housing and having an opening therein for accessing a panel having an actuator button thereon.

23. The toilet assembly according to claim 21 , wherein the tank lid further comprises an actuator opening extending therethrough for allowing extension of at least a portion of a lift arm actuator assembly

Assignees

• As America Inc

Inventors

• Bucher Christophe
• Grover David
• Barndt Ronald
• Seggio Frank
• Mchale James
• Cicenas Chris
• O'Kelly Matthew

Classifications

• E03D2009/028

  using a liquid substance · CPC title

• E03D2201/40

  Devices for distribution of flush water inside the bowl · CPC title

• E03D9/035

  Devices connected to the actuation mechanism (E03D9/036 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E03D9/037 Primary

  Active dispensers, i.e. comprising a moving dosing element (E03D9/035 takes precedence) · CPC title