Toilet with lighted seat hinge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9380918-B2
Application number	US-201414203321-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2014
Priority date	Mar 11, 2013
Publication date	Jul 5, 2016
Grant date	Jul 5, 2016

Abstract

Various disclosed systems relate to fixtures, such as toilets, that include a lighting mechanism for illuminating portions of the fixture. One embodiment relates to a toilet. The seat assembly of the toilet includes a hinge assembly having a hinge housing and a lighting mechanism. The lighting mechanism is at least partially encapsulated by the hinge housing. The lighting mechanism including a first light source and a power source. The seat assembly further includes a lid pivotally connected to the hinge assembly. The seat assembly includes a ring pivotally connected to the hinge assembly. The lighting mechanism is configured to direct light at the tank and to direct light into the bowl such that light is reflected off of the tank and off of an interior of the bowl.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A toilet assembly, comprising:
a toilet base including a bowl;
a tank coupled to the toilet base;
a seat assembly connected to the toilet base, the seat assembly comprising:
a hinge assembly comprising a hinge housing and a lighting mechanism at least partially encapsulated by the hinge housing, the lighting mechanism including a first light source, a reflector configured to distribute the light emitted by the first light source along a length of the reflector thereby creating a light bar effect, and a power source;
a lid pivotally connected to the hinge assembly;
a ring pivotally connected to the hinge assembly;

wherein the lighting mechanism is configured to direct light at the tank and to direct light into the bowl such that light is reflected off of the tank and off of an interior surface of the bowl.

2. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lighting mechanism further includes a second light source, wherein the first light source is configured to emit a first light that is directed at the tank and the second light source is configured to emit a second light that is directed into the bowl.

3. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a timer configured to activate and deactivate the first light source according to a schedule.

4. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the reflector includes a plurality of angled surfaces, the reflector configured to bend the light emitted from the first light source by approximately 90 degrees.

5. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the light emitted from the first light source travels through the reflector generally linearly along a line, and wherein the angled surfaces are angled at an angle of 40 and 70 degrees away from the line traveled by the light.

6. The toilet assembly of claim 5 , wherein the angle is approximately 48 degrees.

7. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the reflector is made of acrylic or polycarbonate.

8. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein when the lid and ring are in a closed position, light passes outward from around a portion of a periphery of the seat assembly.

9. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lid is in an open position, the light illuminates the interior of the bowl beneath the ring.

10. The toilet assembly of claim 1 , wherein when the lid and the ring are in open positions, the light illuminates the interior of the bowl and the inner, upper peripheral portion of the bowl defining a perimeter of the interior of the bowl.

11. A toilet seat assembly, comprising:
a hinge assembly comprising a hinge housing and a lighting mechanism at least partially encapsulated by the hinge housing, the lighting mechanism including a first light source;
a reflector configured to distribute the light emitted by the first light source along a length of the reflector body thereby creating a light bar effect;
a lid pivotally connected to the hinge assembly;
a ring pivotally connected to the hinge assembly;
wherein the lighting mechanism is configured to direct light at a tank of a toilet and to direct light into a bowl of the toilet such that light is reflected off of the tank and off of an interior of the bowl.

12. The toilet seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein the lighting mechanism further includes a second light source, wherein the first light source is configured to emit a first light that is directed at the tank and the second light source is configured to emit a second light that is directed into the bowl.

13. The toilet seat assembly of claim 11 , further comprising a timer configured to activate and deactivate the first light source according to a user configurable schedule.

14. The toilet seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein the reflector includes a plurality of angled surfaces, the reflector configured to bend the light emitted from the first light source by approximately 90 degrees.

15. The toilet seat assembly of claim 14 , wherein the light emitted from the first light source travels through the reflector generally linearly along a line, and wherein the angled surfaces are angled at an angle of between 40 and 70 degrees away from the line traveled by the light.

16. The toilet seat assembly of claim 15 , wherein the angle is approximately 48 degrees.

17. The toilet seat assembly of claim 11 , wherein the reflector is a sawtooth reflector made of acrylic or polycarbonate.

Assignees

• Kohler Co

Inventors

• Murphy Roger W
• Luettgen Michael
• Clarke Gary
• Stauber Joseph L

Classifications

• E03D11/00

  Other component parts of water-closets (pipe-joints or couplings in general F16L ){, e.g. noise-reducing means in the flushing system (noise-reducing means in combination with flushing valves E03D9/14), flushing pipes mounted in the bowl, seals for the bowl outlet, devices preventing overflow of the bowl contents; devices forming a water seal in the bowl after flushing, devices eliminating obstructions in the bowl outlet or preventing backflow of water and excrements from the waterpipe} · CPC title

• F21Y2101/02

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic

• G02B6/00

  Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings · CPC title

• A47K13/24 Primary

  Parts or details not covered in, or of interest apart from, groups A47K13/02 - A47K13/22 · CPC title

• F21V33/004

  Sanitary equipment, e.g. mirrors, showers, toilet seats or paper dispensers · CPC title