Flush toilet apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12352028-B2
Application number	US-202318121705-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2023
Priority date	Mar 31, 2022
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

Provided is a flush toilet apparatus having a flush toilet main body that includes a bowl, a water discharge trap pipe, an upper water discharge port, a lower water discharge port, and a flush control device configured to execute both a large flush mode and a small flush mode. When in operation, the flush control device causes flush water to be discharged from the lower water discharge port with substantially the same amount in each of the large flush mode and the small flush mode to induce a siphon phenomenon in the water discharge trap pipe. The device also controls water discharge from the upper water discharge port so that a water level of pooled water in the bowl during the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is changed between the large flush mode and the small flush mode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flush toilet apparatus capable of executing a large flush mode and a small flush mode, the flush toilet apparatus comprising:
a flush toilet main body that includes a bowl, a water discharge trap pipe communicating with a lower portion of the bowl, an upper water discharge port provided above a pooled water surface of the bowl, and a lower water discharge port provided below the pooled water surface; and
a flush control device configured to control water discharge of flush water from the upper water discharge port and the lower water discharge port to execute the large flush mode and the small flush mode in which a flush water amount is smaller than the flush water amount in the large flush mode,
wherein the flush control device causes the flush water to be discharged from the lower water discharge port with substantially the same amount in each of the large flush mode and the small flush mode to induce a siphon phenomenon in the water discharge trap pipe, while controlling the water discharge from the upper water discharge port so that a water level of pooled water in the bowl during the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is different between the large flush mode and the small flush mode.

2. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flush control device increases a flow rate or time of the water discharge from the upper water discharge port until the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is started in execution of the large flush mode more than in the execution of the small flush mode, whereby the water level of the pooled water in the bowl when the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is started is set to be higher in the large flush mode than in the small flush mode.

3. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flush control device causes the water discharge from the lower water discharge port to be started before the siphon phenomenon occurs in the water discharge trap pipe.

4. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flush control device causes the water discharge from the lower water discharge port to be started before the water level of the pooled water in the bowl reaches a stable water level at which a flow rate of the flush water flowing out over the water discharge trap pipe is equal to a flow rate of the flush water flowing into the bowl from the upper water discharge port.

5. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flush control device increases a flow rate or time of the water discharge from the upper water discharge port after the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is started in execution of the large flush mode more than in the execution of the small flush mode, whereby the water level of the pooled water in the bowl after the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is started is set to be higher in the large flush mode than in the small flush mode.

6. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the flush control device controls the water discharge from the upper water discharge port so that at least in the execution of the large flush mode, the water level of the pooled water in the bowl is higher than an upper end of an inlet of the water discharge trap pipe before the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is started.

7. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the flush control device causes the water discharge from the upper water discharge port to be continued from before the water discharge from the lower water discharge port for inducing the siphon phenomenon is started until the water discharge from the lower water discharge port is terminated, in the execution of the large flush mode.

8. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flush toilet apparatus further includes a flush water tank main body configured to store flush water, a discharge valve configured to switch drainage and stop of the flush water in the flush water tank main body, and an on-off valve configured to switch discharge and stop of flush water supplied from a water supply source, and the flush control device causes the flush water to be discharged from the lower water discharge port by opening the discharge valve, and causes the flush water to be discharged from the upper water discharge port by opening the on-off valve.

Assignees

• Toto Ltd

Inventors

• TSUCHITANI Takumi
• Nakamura Kenichi
• Hashimoto Hiroshi
• Urata Shinichi
• Sone CHISATO
• Matsumura Koichiro

Classifications

• E03D1/34

  Flushing valves for outlets; Arrangement of outlet valves · CPC title

• E03D1/33

  Adaptations or arrangements of floats (actuating-floats in general F16K33/00) · CPC title

• E03D1/26

  Bowl with flushing cistern mounted on the rearwardly extending end of the bowl (shape or material of the cistern E03D1/01; constructional features of the bowl E03D11/02 - E03D11/12) · CPC title

• E03D1/14

  Cisterns discharging variable quantities of water (twin or multiple flushing cisterns E03D1/22; flushing devices operated by pressure of the water supply system and discharging variable quantities of water E03D3/12 ){also cisterns with bell siphons in combination with flushing valves} · CPC title

• Y02A20/40

  Protecting water resources · CPC title