Patent Grant
9447571
This application claims the benefit of and priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201410127562.2 filed Mar. 31, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates generally to smart bathroom products, and more particularly to an automatic flushing mechanism for a smart bathroom product such as an electronically actuated toilet.
Some toilets include a tank which serves as a reservoir of flush water for the toilet. A flush valve is typically located at the bottom of the tank. The flush valve can be displaced via a flush actuating mechanism (e.g., a chain attached to a user-operable handle) to allow the flush water to flow through an opening covered by the flush value and into the base of the toilet. Automatic toilets may replace the user-operable handle with a motor or other automatic flush actuating mechanism.
Some existing flush actuating mechanisms employ a turntable which is rotated in a circular motion. A traction chain generally connects the turntable to the flush valve. Due to the circular motion of the turntable, the traction chain may not move straight up and down during operation. For example, when the flush valve is in a closed position, the angle of the force applied by the traction chain may be oblique. The circular motion of the turntable may also cause the closing speed of the flush value to be slow. Such existing flush actuating mechanisms may be incapable of achieving a rapid closure of the flush value (similar to that achieved by manual operation), leading to the problem of water leakage as the flush valve cannot be closed tightly.
One implementation of the present disclosure is an automatic flushing mechanism for a toilet. The toilet includes a water tank and a flush valve configured to be lifted from a bottom of the water tank to release flush water from the water tank. The automatic flushing mechanism includes an electronic control box containing a motor and an intermittent motion gear coupled to a rotation shaft of the motor. The intermittent motion gear is configured to rotate when the motor is operated. The intermittent motion gear includes a toothed portion including a plurality of gear teeth. The automatic flushing mechanism includes an intermittent motion pendulum rod including a first end pivotally attached to the electronic control box via a rotation shaft, a second end coupled to the flush valve, and a curved rack including a plurality of rack teeth which mesh with the gear teeth of the intermittent motion gear. Rotation of the intermittent motion gear causes the curved rack to be lifted upward, thereby rotating the intermittent motion pendulum rod about the rotation shaft and lifting the flush valve. In some embodiments, the automatic flushing mechanism is located within the water tank.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear includes a smooth toothless root portion along a rim of the intermittent motion gear in series with the toothed portion. In some embodiments, a gap is formed between the smooth toothless root portion and the curved rack when the smooth toothless portion faces the curved rack.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear rotates through a cycle including a lifting phase and a falling phase. During the lifting phase, the toothed portion meshes with the curved rack and causes the curved rack to be lifted upward as the intermittent motion gear rotates. During the falling phase, the smooth toothless root portion faces toward the curved rack and the intermittent motion gear is separated from the curved rack, causing the curved rack to fall downward.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear includes a toothless top portion along a rim of the intermittent motion gear in series with the toothed portion. In some embodiments, distance from an outer edge of the toothless top portion to a center of the intermittent motion gear is greater than a distance from the rim of the intermittent motion gear to the center of the intermittent motion gear. In some embodiments, a bottom tooth of the curved rack remains in contact with and slides along the toothless top portion as the intermittent motion gear rotates after the bottom tooth disengages from the toothed portion.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear rotates through a cycle including a lifting phase and a holding phase. During the lifting phase, the toothed portion meshes with the curved rack and causes the curved rack to be lifted upward as the intermittent motion gear rotates. During the holding phase, the toothless top portion holds the curved rack in a lifted position. In some embodiments, the cycle further includes a falling phase during which the intermittent motion gear disengages from the curved rack, causing the curved rack to fall downward.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear rotates in a first rotational direction. The intermittent motion pendulum rod may initially rotate in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction as the intermittent motion gear rotates in the first rotational direction. The intermittent motion pendulum rod may then switch to rotate in the first rotational direction as the intermittent motion gear continues to rotate in the first direction.
Another implementation of the present disclosure is an automatic flushing mechanism. The automatic flushing mechanism includes an electric appliance control box containing a motor. The automatic flushing mechanism includes an intermittent motion gear including a toothed portion provided along a rim of the intermittent motion gear. The toothed portion includes at least one gear tooth. The intermittent motion gear is driven by the motor. The automatic flushing mechanism further includes an intermittent motion pendulum rod connected, on one end thereof, to a flush valve through a chain. The intermittent motion pendulum rod is connected, on another end thereof, to a rotation shaft which is fixed on the electric appliance control box. The intermittent motion pendulum rod is rotated around the rotation shaft and includes a curved rack which meshes with the toothed portion of the intermittent motion gear.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion pendulum rod is provided with a groove which contains the intermittent motion gear. The curved rack may be provided on one side of the groove.
In some embodiments, the automatic flushing mechanism includes a position-limit device which is fixed on the electric appliance control box and limits movement of the intermittent motion pendulum rod.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear includes a smooth toothless root portion along the rim of the intermittent motion gear. In some embodiments, a gap is formed between the smooth toothless root portion and the curved rack.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear is rotated until the toothed portion meshes with the curved rack. A tooth top arc of a first gear tooth which the toothed portion adopts to mesh with the curved rack may be greater than a tooth top arc of any other gear tooth of the toothed portion. A tooth top arc of a second rack tooth which the curved rack adopts to mesh with the toothed portion may be greater than a tooth top arc of any other rack tooth of the curved rack.
In some embodiments, the intermittent motion gear includes a smooth toothless top portion adjacent to the toothed portion along the rim of the intermittent motion gear. In some embodiments, a distance from an edge of the toothless top portion to a center of the intermittent motion gear is greater than a distance from the rim of the intermittent motion gear to center of the intermittent motion gear. In some embodiments, a bottom tooth of the curved rack remains in contact with and slides along the toothless top portion as the intermittent motion gear rotates after the bottom tooth disengages from the toothed portion. In some embodiments, the toothless top portion occupies between one-half and three-fourths of the rim of the intermittent motion gear
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes described herein, as defined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the detailed description set forth herein and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
Referring now to
In some embodiments, automatic flushing mechanism 20 is used in cooperation with an independent sensor trigger. The external wireless signal may be a signal that a user has finished using the toilet. For example, the wireless signal may be provided by a proximity sensor and/or motion sensor installed on or near the toilet. When a user finishes using the toilet, a signal may be sent automatically from the sensor. Alternatively, the signal may come from a button that is pressed by the user when the user finishes using the toilet. With a wireless signal, it is not necessary to connect automatic flushing mechanism 20 to the external button through a wire. Upon receiving the signal from the button and/or wireless sensor, the wireless signal receiving unit may cause the drive unit to operate (e.g., rotate), thereby triggering the flushing operation. In some embodiments, the motor rotates through one complete revolution when a flushing operation is triggered.
Still referring to
Referring now to
In operation, intermittent motion gear 22 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction (as shown in
Referring now to
As intermittent motion pendulum rod 23 moves into the raised position (shown in
As intermittent motion pendulum rod 23 falls, chain 24 loses upward the pulling force provided by intermittent motion pendulum rod 23, which causes the flush valve to rapidly fall (e.g., due to gravity) into a closed position at the bottom of the water tank. Advantageously, the impact force of falling facilitates complete closing of the flush valve and prevents leakage from occurring.
Referring again to
In some embodiments, a gap is provided between toothless root portion 222 and curved rack 231. The gap between toothless root portion 222 and curved rack 231 may be described by the equation: LMR>LR+LM, where LMR is the total distance between the center of intermittent motion gear 22 and the center of rotation shaft 25, LR is the distance between the tooth top of curved rack 231 and the center of rotation shaft 25, and LM is the distance between toothless root portion 222 and the center of intermittent motion gear 22. The difference between LMR and LR+LM represents the width of the gap.
In some embodiments, intermittent motion gear 22 and curved rack 231 have a tooth pressure angle of approximately 25°˜45°. The standard tooth pressure angle may be approximately 20°. Since the standard tooth top is wide, a standard tooth may mesh without interference in normal operation. However, since intermittent motion gear 22 lacks teeth along its entire circumference, interference problems could potentially occur if the tooth top is too wide. To prevent any potential interference from occurring, the present invention may use a tooth pressure angle (e.g., approximately 25°˜45°) that is greater than the standard tooth pressure angle of approximately 20°.
Still referring to
Similarly, curved rack 231 is shown to include a second rack tooth 2311 and a plurality of other rack teeth 2312. Second rack tooth 2311 may be configured to mesh between first gear tooth 2211 and the adjacent gear tooth 2212. In some embodiments, the tooth top arc of second rack tooth 2311 is greater than the tooth top arcs of the other rack teeth 2312. For example, second rack tooth 2311 may have a tooth top arc within a range of approximately 0.4 to approximately 0.6. The other rack teeth 2312 may have tooth top arcs of approximately 0.35 or less. In other words, second rack tooth 2311 may have a sharper tip relative to the other rack teeth 2312.
In some embodiments, the mesh between intermittent motion gear 22 and curved rack 231 is a flat top mesh. For example, intermittent motion gear 22 may include flat top teeth that are easily held out against each other when they move face to face. In some embodiments, the first gear tooth 2211 has a sharpened tooth top shape relative to the other gear teeth 2212 to ensure that intermittent motion gear 22 will achieve a smooth starting mesh with curved rack 231 and to prevent intermittent motion gear 22 from becoming stuck. These features may advantageously ensure a reliable starting mesh between toothed portion 221 and curved rack 231.
Still referring to
In operation, intermittent motion gear 22 may be driven by the motor (i.e., rotated) into the rotational position shown in
Advantageously, the features provided by intermittent motion gear 22 and intermittent motion pendulum rod 23 simulate the functioning of a manually-operable handle. For example, toothless top portion 223 functions to hold intermittent motion pendulum rod 23 in the elevated position shown in
In some embodiments, the last tooth of curved rack 231 (i.e., the bottom tooth of curved rack 231) continues to contact toothless top portion 223 after the mesh is disengaged. The last tooth of curved rack 231 may slide along toothless top portion 223 until the rotation of intermittent motion gear 22 separates the last tooth from toothless top portion 223. As shown in
Referring again to
In some embodiments, automatic flushing mechanism 20 includes an additional position-limit device 26. Position limiting device 26 may be fixed on gearbox 21 to limit the shaking and swinging of intermittent motion pendulum rod 23. In some embodiments, position-limit device 26 is cross-connected on one side of intermittent motion pendulum rod 23, and fixed to gearbox 21.
Referring now to
The construction and arrangement of the systems and methods as shown in the various exemplary embodiments are illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.). For example, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions may be altered or varied. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 1 0127562 | Mar 2014 | CN | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050217014 | Hung | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20140289946 | Tanimoto | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150275493 A1 | Oct 2015 | US |
