Flush toilet apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9752310-B2
Application number	US-201414450517-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2014
Priority date	Aug 12, 2013
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A flush toilet apparatus that can reduce the total amount of wash water supplied to a bowl portion, even though a jet-pump water supply mechanism is mounted on a toilet body. A jet pump unit induces a jet pump action for making a flow rate of water flowing inside of a throat pipe higher than a flow rate of water injected from a nozzle to supply water at the increased flow rate to water ejection portions, and the flush toilet apparatus switches a channel state of the jet pump unit to sequentially execute a first step, in which water at a first flow rate is supplied to the water ejection portions, and a second step, in which water at a second flow rate lower than the first flow rate is supplied to the water ejection portions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flush toilet apparatus that washes a toilet body by wash water, the flush toilet apparatus comprising:
a toilet body comprising: a bowl portion that receives waste; and a water ejection portion that ejects water for discharging the waste to supply the water to the bowl portion;
a tank storing water inside; and
a jet pump unit arranged in a state that at least part of the jet pump unit is submerged inside of the tank, wherein
the jet pump unit comprises:
a throat pipe that is a pipe provided with a suction port near one end and that is arranged so that water entering inside from the suction port is supplied to the water ejection portion, and the water is ejected from the water ejection portion as wash water; and
a nozzle that injects high-speed water from the suction port toward the inside of the throat pipe,
the jet pump unit is configured to induce a jet pump action for making a flow rate of the water flowing inside of the throat pipe higher than a flow rate of the water injected from the nozzle and to supply the water at the increased flow rate to the water ejection portion,
the flush toilet apparatus further comprises a channel state switching portion for switching a channel state of the jet pump unit to sequentially execute a first step, in which the jet pump unit supplies water at a first flow rate to the water ejection portion, an intermediate step, which is a step following the first step and in which the jet pump unit reduces the flow rate of the water from the first flow rate to a second flow rate lower than the first flow rate to the water ejection portion, and a second step, which is a step following the first step and in which the jet pump unit supplies water at a second flow rate lower than the first flow rate, and higher than the rate at which the nozzle injects the water, to the water ejection portion longer than the intermediate step, and
the channel state switching portion is configured to switch the first step to the second step when the water level in the tank decreases to a first water level, which is a water level on an upper side of the nozzle.

2. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the higher the flow rate of the water supplied to the water ejection portion in the first step, the earlier the timing of transition from the first step to the second step.

3. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
the first step is switched to the second step when the water level in the tank decreases to a predetermined water level set at a position lower than a full water level and higher than the suction port.

4. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the channel state switching portion switches the channel state on a downstream side of the nozzle in the jet pump unit.

5. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the channel state switching portion switches the channel state on the downstream side of the suction port in the jet pump unit.

6. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the throat pipe comprises: a rising portion extending upward from the suction port; a curved portion arranged on the downstream side of the rising portion; and a falling portion arranged on the downstream side of the curved portion and extending downward from the curved portion, wherein the entire throat pipe is formed in an inverted U-shape, and
the channel state switching portion switches the channel state on an upstream side of the falling portion in the jet pump unit.

7. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the channel state switching portion comprises an air introduction portion that introduces air to a water flow generated by the jet pump action, and
the channel state switching portion switches the channel state of the jet pump unit so that an air introduction flow rate from the air introduction portion in the second step is greater than an air introduction flow rate from the air introduction portion in the first step.

8. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the introduction port is formed at a position submerged in the tank in a period that the first step is executed and not submerged in the tank in a period that the second step is executed.

9. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the throat pipe comprises: a rising portion extending upward from the suction port; a curved portion arranged on the downstream side of the rising portion; and a falling portion arranged on the downstream side of the curved portion and extending downward from the curved portion, wherein the entire throat pipe is formed in an inverted U-shape, and
the air introduced from the introduction port is mixed with the water flow generated by the jet pump action at a position on the upstream side of the falling portion.

10. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
the air introduced from the introduction port is mixed with the water flow generated by the jet pump action at a position on the downstream side of the suction port.

11. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the throat pipe comprises: a rising portion extending upward from the suction port; a curved portion arranged on the downstream side of the rising portion; and a falling portion arranged on the downstream side of the curved portion and extending downward from the curved portion, wherein the entire throat pipe is formed in an inverted U-shape, and a siphon action is generated in addition to the jet pump action,
water is supplied to the water ejection portion based on the jet pump action and the siphon action in the first step, and
the siphon action is stopped after the transition to the second step.

12. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the timing of transition from the first step to the second step and the timing of stopping the siphon action are different.

13. The flush toilet apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
the channel state switching portion
comprises an air introduction portion provided with an introduction port for introducing air, switches the channel state of the jet pump unit by mixing the air with the water flow generated by the jet pump action, and
stops the siphon action by the air mixed with the water flow from the air introduction portion.

14. A flush toilet apparatus that washes a toilet body by wash water, the flush toilet apparatus comprising:
a toilet body comprising: a bowl portion that receives waste; and a water ejection portion that ejects water for discharging the waste to supply the water to the bowl portion;
a tank storing water inside; and
a jet pump unit arranged in a state that at least part of the jet pump unit is submerged inside of the tank, wherein
the jet pump unit comprises:
a throat pipe that is a pipe provided with a suction port near one end and that is arranged so that water entering inside from the suction port is supplied to the water ejection portion, and the water is ejected from the water ejection portion as wash water; and
a nozzle that injects high-speed water from the suction port toward the inside of the throat pipe,
the jet pump unit is configured to induce a jet pump action for making a flow rate of the water flowing inside of the throat pipe higher than a flow rate of the water injected from the nozzle and to supply the water at the increased flow rate to the water ejection portion,
the flush toilet apparatus further comprises a channel state switching portion for switching a channel state of the jet pump unit to sequentially execute a first step, in which the jet pump un

Assignees

• Toto Ltd

Inventors

• Kitaura Hidekazu
• Ishimaru Ryoko
• Iwabata Tomohiro

Classifications

• E03D5/01 Primary

  using flushing pumps · CPC title

• E03D11/08

  Bowls with means producing a flushing water swirl · CPC title