Bidet assembly for toilets

Abstract

A bidet assembly for toilets comprising a non-permanent mounting means, such as a “C” clamp device and a long stiff wedging member with spring-back property, one or more nozzles mounted inside a toilet bowl under the rim lip, and a water supply tube that connects directly to the bowl refill nipple on a ballcock. Said multi-parts bidet assembly forms one integral tubing unit. Said bidet assembly can be mounted or removed, without tools, in 2 minutes or less and leaves no mar or damage on a toilet. Said bidet assembly is hidden from view, provides clean water for cleansing a user's private parts during the refill cycle and keeps water from splashing out of a toilet, and has no moving parts or controls of any kind to manipulate. Said bidet assembly can retrofit toilets of any size and shape and can be fabricated from commonly available merchandise.

Description

REFERENCES CITED
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,943,961	September 1976	Knapp	4/420.4
4,242,764	January 1981	Fukuda	4/420.4
4,450,596	May 1984	Cohen	4/447
5,142,711	September 1992	Parikh	4/420.4
5,247,711	September 1993	Kwon	4/420.4
5,271,104	December 1993	LaTora	4/420.4
5,284,566	February 1994	Azada	4/420.4
5,652,971	August 1997	Wokas	4/420.4
5,722,097	February 1998	Deveer	4/420.4
5,799,341	September 1998	Rodas	4/420.4
5,809,585	September 1998	Farshad	4/443
5,953,766	September 1999	Szoke	4/420.4
5,991,937	November 1999	Safara	4/420.4
6,178,568	January 2001	Boulieris	4/420.4
6,321,396	November 2001	Vallejo	4/420.4
6,339,852	January 2002	Huang	4/420.4
6,408,451	June 2002	Carn et al.	4/420.4
6,473,913	November 2002	Bell	4/448
6,526,602	March 2003	Jeon	4/420.4
6,643,856	November 2003	Valverde	4/420.4
6,704,946	March 2004	Mueller et al.	4/420.4
6,785,915	September 2004	Daugherty	4/448
9,843,432	January 2005	Philpott	239/289
6,874,173	April 2005	Smith et al.	4/420.4
6,978,492	December 2005	Francisco et al.	4/420.4

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bidet assembly for retrofitting toilets for the cleansing of a user's private parts.

2. Descriptions of the Prior Art

Bidet is a stand-alone unit beside a conventional toilet to provide spray of water to the underside of a user for the cleansing of the user's private parts. Because bidet requires additional floor space and is also expensive, they are not installed in most homes.

Therefore, retrofitting existing conventional toilets with a bidet assembly provides a practical solution. There is a myriad of prior art on the design of an ideal bidet assembly. Most of the prior art bidet attachments, however, are expensive to manufacture, complex, permanent attachments, difficult to install, difficult to use, failed to meet sanitary requirements, and unsightly. Examples of such prior art bidet attachments are shown and described in the cited References.

A major problem that may not be obvious from reading the prior art and not specifically addressed by the prior art is the propensity of splashing water out of a toilet bowl during the application of prior art devices. As a user sits on a toilet seat, the opening in the toilet seat is practically completely covered by the user. Therefore, it can be very difficult to maneuver a hand-held device, such as a hand-held spray (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,978.492, 6,843.432, 6,785,915, 6,704,946, 6,473,913, 5,991,937, 5,953,766, 5,809,585), with water spraying out everywhere and avoid splashing water outside of the toilet.

The manipulation of a handle, valve, knob or other controls can be difficult under normal situation. It becomes more so and even confusing to use when a user gets up in the middle of the night, perhaps half asleep and in the dark, goes to the toilet. It becomes even more difficult when such devices (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,87,566, 5,722,097, 5,799,341) are located behind the user.

The prior art bidet device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,813 presented an unsanitary condition because its vertical spray nozzle is directly under the buttocks of a user. Although this problem is solved by U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,907 it requires manipulating a handle behind the user to move the bidet structure out of the way. U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,104 solves the problem using a pivotal nozzle. This is never a problem for this present invention of a bidet assembly because said bidet assembly is designed to be hidden from view and therefore its nozzle is not directly under a user buttocks.

The prior art bidet attachments of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,799,341, 5,271,104, 5,142,711 are among the easier ones to install as far as the water supply source is concern, because they connect to the toilet bowl's refill water outlet as their water supply source, instead of the main water supply pipe to the toilet tank. However, these prior art bidets are still expensive (U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,104), difficult to use (U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,341), and unsightly (for all three said patents). They all require some permanent attaching means, such as adhesives, screws or bolts and nuts, to secure the spray nozzles.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,711 additionally specified securing spray nozzles on a toilet bowl uppermost surface. Such placement location presents two problems: First, said placement prevents some toilet seats from mating completely on the toilet bowl surface, Second, water shooting from the jet spray nozzle across the bowl hits the opposite side and would splash out of the bowl. Therefore, its stand alone Claim 1 is not a practical and viable solution. Said prior art attempts, but apparently failed, to solve said problems by diverting some to the water flow (Claim 3, which specifies a T-fitting to partially divert the water to the overflow tube). Actually, the specification for a T-fitting is already claimed in Claim 1 although it was termed generally as “a connecting member having a plurality of ports”. Said problems is finally corrected by the specification of “a means, such as an adjustable clamp, for restricting the flow of water” in Claim 8. Said means for restricting water flow is a control that requires a user to manipulate. A clamp, the only suggested means, does not, provide a good control for flow of water. A valve would have given more accurate result.

Prior art bidet devices are also unsightly because they are seen as clutter in a limited space toilet room, or can be seen beside or protruding out of a toilet. To avoid unsightliness, bidet assembly parts need to be hidden out-of-sight and that would require bidet parts to be located within the confines of a toilet tank and bowl. This can become a stringent requirement because there are no standards in the size and shape for toilet tank and bowl. And because there are no standards—other than the bolt down holes spacing for the toilet and the hole spacing for bolting a toilet seat—there are literally myriads of toilet sizes and shapes in the market. Making and inventorying a myriad of bidet sizes may be impractical and expensive. Toilet bowl has a standard for naming the shape of a bowl—round and elongated—but its standardization ends there in name only. Within each round and elongated classification, there are myriads of sizes and shapes. Differences in size and shape are found not only among different brands but also within each brand. For example, one company alone has 36 different models and each model's size and shape are different.

The following table shows examples of toilet sizes (in inches) from one brand for some of its models. The letters represent parts of a toilet tank and bowl shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

		TANK DI-
	BOWL DIMENSIONS	MENSIONS
BOWL SHAPE	L	W	LW	LD	LH	D	TH	TL
ROUND	11.50	10.63	3.00	1.13	1.50	3.75	7.00	17.00
ROUND	12.00	11.00	2.25	1.00	1.50	4.38	12.00	17.50
ELONGATED	13.50	10.75	2.50	1.50	1.50	4.25	10.25	16.00
ELONGATED	13.50	10.88	2.75	1.25	1.50	4.75	10.25	15.50
ELONGATED	13.63	10.88	2.75	1.25	1.50	4.50	10.50	16.00
ELONGATED	14.00	10.75	2.25	1.00	1.75	5.00	12.00	17.00
ELONGATED	14.00	11.00	2.50	1.00	1.50	5.75	15.25
ELONGATED	14.00	11.00	2.50	1.00	1.75	5.00	14.50
ELONGATED	14.00	11.00	2.50	1.00	1.88	5.00	12.13	17.00
ELONGATED	14.38	11.50	2.25	1.50	1.50	5.00	15.25	16.75
ELONGATED	15.25	10.38	1.50	0.88	1.50	*	*	*
ELONGATED	15.25	11.75	1.50	1.00	1.63	4.25	12.25
*NOT APPLICABLE - ONE PIECE UNIT

Shape differences among models further contributed to the problem. For examples: 1. Some toilets have a bulge at the front end of the toilet bowl and, therefore, have a zero value for FLD. 2. Some toilets are one piece unit; that is, the toilet tank and bowl are not separated units.

It can be concluded from these myriads of sizes and shapes that designing a one-size bidet assembly—that will fit within the confines of a toilet—presents a major challenge to innovation. These may well be the reasons why prior art bidet devices retrofit outside the confines of a toilet tank and bowl.

In the present invention of a bidet assembly, all of the said problems and deficiencies are successfully solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bidet assembly for retrofitting toilets of all sizes and shapes to provide clean jet stream of water for the cleansing of a user's private parts while keeping water from splashing out of a toilet bowl. The bidet assembly comprises a nozzle connected to a water supply tube and a non-permanent mounting means for holding said nozzle inside a toilet bowl and under the bowl's lip horizontal surface. Said strategic placement of said nozzle keeps jet stream of water within the bowl inner chamber (below its lip) and prevent water from splashing out. One embodiment example of said non-permanent mounting means is a “C” clamp that holds said water supply tube and the connected end of said nozzle on the bowl's lip. Another embodiment example of said non-permanent mounting means is a long and stiff member with a spring-back property that wedges itself and one end of said water supply tube and said nozzle against the toilet bowl's inside curve surface and its lip underside, when bent to pass through the smaller bowl's lip circumference and then released, due to its spring-back property.

A further embodiment of the present invention is that said water supply tube being directly connected to the bowl refill nipple on the ballcock so that clean water for cleaning is provided as the toilet is being flushed.

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention is that said non-permanent mounting means, said water supply tube and said nozzle is one integral unit formed from a single tube.

A further preferred embodiment of the present invention is that said non-permanent mounting means, said water supply tube and said nozzle is one integral unit joined together by at least one fitting.

A still further preferred embodiment of the present invention is that at least one nozzle is provided through the use of multi-port fitting or jointed fittings.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that can be manufactured using commonly available merchandise.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is capable of retrofitting all size and shape of toilets.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is simple, quick and easy to install and remove and without the need to remove the toilet seat.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet that does not mar nor damage a toilet.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that does not cause water to splash out of a toilet bowl through the strategic placement of nozzle.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that has no valve, handle, and control to manipulate and, therefore, is easy to use.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is hidden within the confines of a toilet tank and bowl and, therefore, not unsightly. >>>>Sanitary Factor<<<<<<

The present invention of a bidet assembly is particularly noteworthy in providing an inexpensive bidet assembly that a user can install or remove quickly and easily, that is hidden from view, that provides clean water to the user for cleansing private parts by just simply flushing a toilet without manipulating any controls, that can retrofit all toilets, that meets sanitary requirements, and that does not cause water to splash out of a toilet.

The various features and benefits which characterize the present invention of a bidet assembly will become apparent with those skilled in the art after reading the following description of drawings and detailed description of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a conventional toilet wherein the dimension of parts is referenced by letters.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the toilet in FIG. 1 wherein the dimension of parts is referenced by letters.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional toilet wherein parts referred to in this invention are identified.

FIG. 4 is the same cross-sectional view as FIG. 2 wherein parts referred to in this invention are identified.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a conventional toilet similar to FIG. 1 wherein parts referred to in this invention are identified.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a basic “C” clamp.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a threaded rod “C” clamp.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a spring-loaded “C” clamp.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of a spring-loaded “C” clamp showing the location of the spring.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a basic “C” clamp bidet assembly of this invention, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section taken along the line 10-10 of a conventional toilet shown in FIG. 3 and view at an oblique angle in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tube with a flare end.

FIG. 12 is a top front view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly of this invention in a one dimensional plane.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly of this invention in two dimensional planes.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of said integral “C” clamp bidet assembly in one dimensional plane, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 15 is a top front view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly of this invention in one dimensional plane.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly of this invention in two dimensional planes.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of said integral “C” clamp bidet assembly in two dimensional planes, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of a bidet assembly of this invention featuring a long and slender member mounting means, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 19 is a graph on a x-y axes with a formula for calculating the % spring-back for a long slender member.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of an integral long and slender member bidet assembly of this invention formed from a single tube.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of said integral long and slender member bidet assembly in FIG. 20, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of an example of a four-port fitting for a multi-port fitting of this invention.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of an example of a two-jointed “T” fitting for a four-port fitting of this invention and showing rotation in two dimensional planes.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an integral long and slender member bidet assembly of this invention using said two jointed “T” fitting and having one tube nozzle.

FIG. 25 is a top front view of said bidet assembly shown in FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an integral long and slender member bidet assembly of this invention using said two-jointed “T” fitting and having two tube nozzles.

FIG. 27 is a top front view of said bidet assembly shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is perspective view showing an embodiment example of said integral long and slender member bidet assembly with one tube nozzle, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 29 is perspective view showing an embodiment example of said integral long and slender member bidet assembly with two tube nozzles, as installed in a toilet, which is shown as a vertical cross-section and view at an oblique angle.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of a bidet assembly wherein said water supply tube is connected to a “T” fitting with three ports to provide for two tube nozzles.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing an embodiment example of a “C” clamp bidet assembly wherein said “C” clamp and water supply tube are one integral tubing unit. The bottom end of said tubing unit is connected to a “T” fitting with three ports to provide for two tube nozzles.

FIG. 32 shows two ellipses representing an actual toilet bowl opening (smaller elliptical shape) and the bowl's lip underside rear corner edge (larger elliptical shape).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bidet assembly for retrofitting toilets to provide clean jet stream of water for the cleansing of a user's private parts through the normal action of flushing a toilet, without any control to manipulate. Said bidet assembly comprises a nozzle connected to a water supply tube and a non-permanent mounting means for holding said nozzle under the lip 1 of a toilet bowl 18. Such strategic placement of said nozzle keeps jet stream of water within the bowl inner chamber and prevent water from splashing out.

A conventional toilet is shown in FIG. 3, a perspective view, and FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view, without the usual tank cover, toilet bowl seat and cover.

The toilet bowl 18 has a lip 1 and inside surface 2. Said lip 1 comprises a top rim corner edge 3, a bottom rim corner edge 5, an underside horizontal surface 6, an underside rear corner edge 7, a vertical face 8, and a top surface 9, whose surface extends toward and under the toilet tank 4. Each of said parts, except for top surface 9, inner surface 2 and tank 4, has an elliptical shape when viewed from the top. This is shown in FIG. 5. The thickness of lip 1 is referenced by LH.

The toilet tank 4 has a top rim 11. Inside tank 4 is a ballcock 12, which comprises a bowl refill nipple 13, a tank refill pipe 14, a valve control rocker arm 15 attached to a ball float 16, and an overfill pipe 17.

The said non-permanent mounting means in this present invention of a bidet assembly provides the advantages of quick and easy installation and removal, not marring nor permanently damaging a toilet, which would have happened with conventional installation means using adhesives, screws or bolts. This invention of a bidet assembly also has no moving parts, which can break down. These benefits appeal not only to homeowners but especially to renters, who can take said bidet assembly with them when they moved and install it in their new residence.

When a single nozzle is mentioned in some bidet assembly, it is understood that additional nozzles can be added through the use of one or more fittings to provide more ports for the connection of nozzles. FIG. 30 shows a bidet assembly A wherein water supply tube 69 is connected to a “T” fitting 68 to provide two ports for two nozzles, 70 and 71.

An embodiment example of said non-permanent mounting means in this present invention of a bidet assembly is a “C” clamp device that wedges the water supply tube and the connected end of a nozzle on bowl lip 1 of a toilet. Three embodiment examples of said “C” clamp device are the basic “C” clamp BC in FIG. 6, the threaded rod tightening-clamp TC in FIG. 7, and the spring-loaded clamp SC in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. These clamps adapt to a variety of bowl lip 1 thicknesses LH by having the height of each of the vertical parts 20, 27, and the combined height of 28 and 29 at least higher than the thickest lip 1 of toilet bowls in the market. The manner by which each of said clamps adjust to lesser bowl lip 1 thickness LH is different and is discussed in succeeding paragraphs.

The basic “C” clamp in FIG. 6 is a one piece three segments unit. The top segment 19 is generally perpendicular to vertical segment 20. The bottom segment 21 is at an angle less than 90 degree, preferably 45 degree, to the vertical segment 20. Said bottom segment 21 adjusts to lesser bowl lip 1 thickness LH by the flexing of the bottom segment 21 which thereby increases the GAP distance between said top segment 19 and the highest surface of said bottom segment 21. Said flexing occurs as the basic “C” clamp BC is pushed forward and wedges said nozzle 35 and said water supply tube 39, which are wrapped around lip 1, on the rear portion of lip 1, as shown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment example, said water supply tube 39 comprises of three sections: a first section of flexible tube 36, a second section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a third section of flexible tube 38. Second end of first section 36 is connect to one end of the second section 37, whose other end is connected to one end of the third section 38, whose other end is connected to the bowl refill nipple 13. The preferred way of keeping these water supply tube sections from view is by passing the first section of flexible tube 36 under a toilet seat between the seat bolting connections, under and up behind the toilet tank and then connects to the inverted “U” tube 37, which hangs on the rear tank top edge 11. A rigid material is specified for said inverted “U” tube 37 to prevent from collapsing under the weight of a toilet tank cover.

The end portion of nozzle 35 and inverted “U” tube 37 that is connected to flexible tubing is preferably flared, shown in FIG. 11, to keep the flexible tubing from sliding off, a beneficial effect similar to that of a single barbed tube fitting. A flared end 40 is a easier, faster and less costly way for connection versus conventional means, such as a hose clamp or a tube-to-hose fitting.

The threaded rod tightening-clamp TC provides a handle 24 for hand turning threaded rod 25 forcing plate 26 against a bowl top surface 9, with bottom segment 23 against lip under-surface 6, until tight. Its application is similar to that of the basic “C” clamp shown in FIG. 10 in which the threaded rod tightening-clamp TC is used in place of the basic “C” clamp. The downward displacement of the plate 26 depends on the lip 1 thickness LH.

The spring-loaded clamp SC shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is in the open position. Squeezing the handles 32 and 33 together separates the two clamp surfaces 30 and 31. Upon release of said handles, said clamp surfaces 30 and 31 clamp down upon and hold aid nozzle 35 and water supply tube 39 on bowl lip 1 (see FIG. 10 with the spring-loaded clamp S C in place of the basic clamp BC) regardless of bowl lip thickness.

A further embodiment of the present invention of a bidet assembly with a non-permanent securing means of “C” clamps wherein the basic “C” clamp, water supply tube and nozzle form one integral tubing unit. Said integral bidet assembly is made of stiff and rigid tube, preferably metal, such as stainless steel and copper. The required characteristics for clamping onto a bowl lip 1 are the same as the basic “C” clamp B C shown in FIG. 6. Two embodiment examples are shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16.

FIG. 12 is a top front view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IP of the present invention wherein the nozzle is on the same dimensional plane as the clamping segments and FIG. 13 is its perspective view. Vertical segment 43, top segment 44, which is also the water supply tube, and bottom segment 45 form the “C” clamp. A further preferred embodiment of this integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IP of the present invention is that the water supply tube comprises of three sections, as shown in FIG. 14: a first section of flexible tube 36, a second section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a third section of flexible tube 38. The first end of first section 36 is connected to a shorten top segment 44 while its other end is connect to one end of second section 37, whose other end is connected to one end of third section 38, whose other end is connected to bowl refill nipple 13. Preferably, the end of rigid tubes connected to flexible tube has a flare.

FIG. 15 is a top front view of an integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IB of the present invention wherein the tube nozzle 46 is on a separate plane as the “C” clamp segments and FIG. 16 is its perspective view. The plane of said tube nozzle 46 in this embodiment example is perpendicular to the “C” clamp segments. A further preferred embodiment of this integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IB of the present invention is for the water supply tube of said integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IB to comprise of three sections, as shown in FIG. 17: a first section of flexible tube 36, a second section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a third section of flexible tube 38. The first end of first section 36 is connected to a shorten top section 48 while its other end is connect to one end of second section 37, whose other end is connected to one end of third section 38, whose other end is connected to bowl refill nipple 13. Preferably, the end of rigid tubes connected to flexible tube has a flare.

Although a single tube nozzle is shown for the integral “C” clamp bidet assembly IP and IB, additional nozzles can be added through the use of one or more fittings to provide additional ports for the connection of nozzles. FIG. 31 shows a bidet assembly B wherein the water supply tube 72 is connected to a “T” fitting 68 to provide two ports for two tube nozzles, 73 and 74.

Another embodiment example of said non-permanent mounting means in this present invention of a bidet assembly is a long and stiff member 50 having a spring-back property, shown in FIG. 18, that wedges bidet tube nozzle 35 against the toilet bowl surface under the lip's rear underside corner edge 7 after said member 50 is bent, to pass through the bowl opening, and then release. Said member 50, however, is restraint by the narrower bowl inside surface from recovering its initial wider form. This restraint produces a force, from its spring-back property, that presses member 50 against and up along the bowl's inside sloping surface to under lip 1 rear underside corner edge 7, which has the largest elliptical circumference inside the bowl. The preferred shape of said long and stiff member 50 is selected from the group consisting of a tube, a rod, and a bar.

In order for said long and stiff member 50 to function as described above, said member 50 must have a length of at least 30% (see Example 1 for details) of the circumference of the underside corner edge 7 for each specific toilet plus a spring-back property of at least 11% (see Example 2 for details), measured by the method shown in FIG. 19.

The procedure for measuring % spring-back is given as follows: take a 14 inches straight length of a long and stiff member 50, clamp two inches of one end with the 2-inch mark at the zero mark along the x-axis on a table. The free end is then bent, along the y-axis by sliding along the surface of said table, to a distance of 10 inches (H1) from the x-axis follow by releasing said free end. The final distance of said free end from the x-axis is H2. The difference between H1 and H2 divided by H1 times a 100 is the member % spring-back property. A complete recovery to a straight line has a 100% spring-back property because its H2 value is zero. The measured % spring-back value for a ¼″ OD (outside diameter) copper tube (JMF Company, Bettendorf, Iowa) is 1.2% while that for 20 gauge galvanize steel wire (Hillman, Cincinnati, Ohio) is 55%.

The shape of said underside corner edge 7 is approximately an ellipse (FIG. 5) and the formula for calculating the circumference of an ellipse is:

$\mathrm{Cicumference}=3.1416\times \sqrt{\frac{a^2+b^2}{2}}$

Where a=A/2 and b=B/2.

A further embodiment of said long and stiff member in this present invention of a bidet assembly as a means for mounting a nozzle and water supply tube is an endless loop. Said endless loop can achieve the same result of wedging and firmly holding said nozzle against a bowl's inside wall surface under the bowl lip 1 even with % spring-back of less than 11%.

A still further embodiment of a long and stiff member as a said non-permanent securing means in this present invention of a bidet assembly is that said long and stiff member, a nozzle, and water supply tube become an integral unit fabricated from a single stiff tube. FIG. 20 shows such an embodiment example of an integral unit IC wherein nozzle 51 is the end segment, the long and stiff mounting member 52 is the middle segment, and the water supply 53 is the last segment. The long and stiff member segment 52 serves a dual function of mounting onto a toilet bowl and providing water to the nozzle.

A still further embodiment of said integral unit IC is that the water supply segment 53 comprises of three sections, as shown in FIG. 21: a first section of flexible tube 36, a second section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a third section of flexible tube 38. The first end of first section 36 is connected to a shorten water supply segment 53 of integral bidet assembly IC while its other end is connect to one end of second section 37, whose other end is connected to one end of third section 38, whose other end is connected to bowl refill nipple 13. Preferably, the end of rigid tubes connected to flexible tube has a flare.

A still further embodiment example of a long and stiff member as a said non-permanent securing means in this present invention of a bidet assembly is that said long and stiff member comprises of two sections, joined by a multi-port tube-to-tube fitting, to form a jointed long and stiff member. With a four-port fitting, a nozzle and water supply tube are connected to the remaining 2 ports. Additional nozzles can be connected with a fitting having more than four ports.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of an embodiment sample of a four-port tube-to-tube fitting. A preferred embodiment example is shown in FIG. 23, wherein the four ports are created using two “T” tube-to-tube fittings, joined together by a short tube 54. Said two-jointed “T” fitting JT provides the benefits of having two dimensional rotations. Port 57 can be rotated and thus rendering it easier to connect to the water supply tube 67 in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29. Port 58 can be rotated permitting an inserted nozzle to be adjusted for angle of discharging water. With this preferred embodiment example of this invention of a bidet assembly, the maximum angle said inserted nozzle can rotate is to a horizontal plane, its further movement being restricted by lip underside horizontal surface 6. This feature has the benefit of ensuring that the water jet stream stays below lip 1, within the bowl, and does not splash outside of bowl 18.

A further preferred embodiment example of this present invention of a bidet assembly is the use of instant (push-to-connect) tube fittings (Watts, North Andover, Mass.). Said instant tube fitting provides quick and easy connection between tube and fitting, whereas compression tube fitting requires turning a nut to tighten.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of said jointed “T” fitting JT in this present invention of a bidet assembly B1 having one nozzle and FIG. 25 is its top front view. FIG. 28 shows an embodiment example of said bidet assembly B1 converted to bidet assembly B3 having a shorten rigid water supply tube 67 for first section, a second section of a flexible tube 36, a third section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a fourth section of flexible tube 38. The first end of first section 67 is connected to said jointed “T” fitting JT, while its other end is connect to one end of second section 36, whose other end is connected to one end of third section 37, whose other end is connected to fourth section 38, whose other end is connected to bowl refill nipple 13. Prior to the connections described above, the bidet assembly B3 with said shorten rigid water supply tube 67 is first inserted into the toilet bowl by holding the ends of arm 61 and arm 62 and bending both arms just enough to squeeze past through the front and rear of vertical lip surface 8, followed by releasing the arms. Further adjustment is made to locate the nozzle to the rear end of the bowl by sliding said bidet assembly B 3 around the bowl surface under lip 1. Preferably, the end of rigid tube connected to flexible tube has a flare.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of said jointed tee fitting JT in this present invention of a bidet assembly B 2 having two nozzles and FIG. 27 is its top front view. FIG. 29 shows an embodiment example of said bidet assembly B2 converted to bidet assembly B4 having a shorten rigid water supply tube 67 for its first section, a second section of flexible tube 36, a third section of rigid inverted “U” tube 37, and a fourth section of flexible tube 38. The first end of first section 67 is connected to said jointed “T” fitting JT, while its other end is connect to one end of second section 36, whose other end is connected to one end of third section 37, whose other end is connected to fourth section 38, whose other end is connected to bowl refill nipple 13. Prior to the connections described above, the bidet assembly B4 is first inserted inside the toilet bowl by holding the ends of arm 62 and arm 65 and bending both arms just enough to squeeze past through the front and rear of vertical lip surface 8, followed by releasing the arms. Further adjustment is made to locate the nozzle to the rear end of the bowl by sliding said bidet assembly B3 around the bowl surface under lip 1. Preferably, the end of rigid tube connected to flexible tube has a flare.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is inexpensive to manufacture.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is capable of retrofitting all size and shape of toilets.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is simple, quick and easy to install.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is simple, quick and easy to remove without leaving any mar or damage on a toilet.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that has no valve, handle, and control to manipulate and, therefore, is easy to use.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a bidet assembly that is hidden within the confines of a toilet tank and bowl and, therefore, not unsightly.

A still further objective of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive bidet assembly that a user can install quickly and easily, that is hidden from view, that provides clean water to the user by just simply flushing a toilet without manipulating any controls, that can retrofit all toilets, that meets sanitary requirements, and that is inexpensive to manufacture.

EXAMPLES

Example 1 gives the details of an experiment that determines the minimum length required for a long and stiff member 50 with good % spring-back property to stay wedge and hold itself in the inside bowl surface 2 and directly below the bowl's lip underside surface 6 and rear corner edge 7. Example 2 gives the details for determining the minimum % spring-back property in a toilet bowl. Example 3 gives the details of an experiment that measures the time to install and remove a preferred embodiment in this invention of a bidet assembly.

Example 1

The dimensions used for an actual sample toilet bowl are: A=17.75″, B=13.5″ (FIG. 5). These are the dimensions for the elliptical shape of a toilet bowl rear lip's corner edge 7. A straight rod 10-24 size 0.192″ diameter steel threaded rod (Steel Works), purchased from Lowe's Home Improvement. A 22.6″ length, which is half the calculated-circumference, was used to wedge at the rear end of said bowl (FIG. 18). An equal length from each end of said threaded rod was progressively cut and reinstall to check for holding power until said rod can no longer stay on. The results are shown in the following table:

LENGTH CUT	FINAL	HOLDING ONTO
FROM EACH END	LENGTH	BOWL SURFACE
Start length	22.6″	YES
1.0″	20.6″	YES
0.5″	19.6″	YES
0.5″	18.6″	YES
0.5″	17.6″	YES
1.0″	15.6″	YES
1.0″	13.6″	NO

The minimum length is calculated taking 13.6″ divided by the circumference of 45.2″ and is equaled to 30.0%.

Example 2

FIG. 32 shows two ellipses representing an actual toilet bowl opening (smaller elliptical shape) and the bowl's lip underside rear corner edge 7 (larger elliptical shape). Said larger elliptical shape of lip underside rear corner edge 7 is obviously can not be seen visibly and is drawn from measured values. In order to insert a long and stiff member into the inside surface, which has the larger elliptical surface, of said bowl the member must first pass through the small bowl opening and this requires minimally bending it as shown by member 75. After insertion, the ends are released and are restraint by the inside surface represented by the larger ellipse. Said long and stiff member would assume the position of Member 76 after its release if it has enough spring-back property to reach this position represented by H2=7.900″. If it has higher spring-back property, it would still be restraint but it would have a built-in flex tension, allowing it to press and wedge against the inner bowl surface. If it does not have enough spring-back property, the member would have slide down the inner bowl surface. Therefore, the minimum % spring-back is 11.0%, as calculated as follows:

Minimum % Spring-Back=(H1−H2)×100/H1

Example 3

In the example, the preferred embodiment example of an integral long and slender member bidet assembly of this present invention shown in FIG. 28 was fabricated using only common commercially available tools and merchandise to demonstrate low manufacturing cost. Said bidet assembly was fabricated using: ¼″ OD, 0.218″ ID 304 stainless steel tubing, ¼″ ID, ⅜″ OD PVC (polyvinyl chloride) clear flexible tubing, and quick connect (push-to-connect) ¼″ OD tube “T” fittings (Watts, North Andover, Mass.)

The objectives of quick and easy installation in this present invention of a bidet assembly is demonstrated by an experiment timing the speed to install and to remove said fabricated bidet assembly of this present invention. A total of five trials each were done. It is assumed that a user first read an installation instruction prior to actual installation. Therefore, the recorded time is the actual time to install and remove, not counting the time to read the instruction.

Said fabricated bidet assembly comprises six parts: B3—the two jointed “T” fittings with nozzle 63 and short water supply tube 67 already attached, arms 61 and 62, inverted rigid “U” tube 37, flexible tubes 36 and 38. The installation time also includes time to join said parts together plus removing and replacing a toilet tank cover. The result of five trials is shown in the following table.

	TRIAL NO.
	1	2	3	4	5	AVERAGE
INSTALLATION	1′9″	1′19″	1′9″	1′	1′15″	1′10″
TIME (Minutes)
REMOVAL	39″	52″	36″	44″	46″	43″
TIME (Seconds)

The average time for installation is less 1.5 minutes and for removal, less than a minute. These amazing results conclusively prove that this present invention of a bidet assembly is quick and easy to install and remove.

Claims

1. A bidet assembly comprising a “C” clamp device that wedges and holds a water supply tube on a toilet bowl lip, wherein the first end of said tube is connected to a nozzle kept on the underside of the toilet bowl lip andthe second end of said tube connected to a water source for supplying water to said nozzle.

2. The bidet assembly of claim 1 where said nozzle is a tube nozzle.

3. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein the “C” clamp device is selected from the group consisting of a basic “C” clamp,a threaded rod “C” clamp, anda spring-loaded “C” clamp.

4. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein the water supply tube and tube nozzle are one integral tubing unit.

5. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein said water supply tube is connected directly to the toilet bowl refill nipple on a toilet ballcock.

6. The bidet assembly of claim 5 where said water supply tube comprises of three connected parts in the following order: a first flexible tube,a rigid inverted “U” shape tube, anda second flexible tube.

7. The bidet assembly of claim 6 wherein the end of the rigid tube connected to a flexible tube has a flare end.

8. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein the first end of said tube is connected to a fitting with multiple ports to provide multiple tube nozzles, each tube nozzle being attached to each remaining port of said fitting.

9. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein said “C” clamp device and said water supply tube are one integral tubing unit, one end of said integral unit is connected to a water supply source andthe other end is connected to a multiple ports fitting to provide at least one tube nozzle.

10. The bidet assembly of claim 2 wherein said “C” clamp device, said tube nozzle, and said water supply tube are one integral tubing unit.

11. The bidet assembly of claim 10 wherein said water supply segment comprises three connected parts: a flexible tube,an inverted “U” tube anda flexible tube.

12. The bidet assembly of claim 11 wherein the end of the rigid tube connected to a flexible tube has a flare end.

13. A bidet assembly comprising a long and stiff member with spring-back property that wedges against a toilet bowl surface, which is under said toilet bowl lip, and that presses and holds down a water supply tube on said bowl surface, wherein the first end of said tube is connected to a nozzle kept on the underside of the toilet bowl lip andthe second end of said water supply tube connected to a water source for supplying water to said nozzle.

14. The bidet assembly of claim 13 wherein said nozzle is a tube nozzle.

15. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said long and stiff member is selected from the group consisting of a tube,a rod,a bar, andjointed parts of a tube, rod, and bar.

16. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said first end of said water supply tube is connected to a fitting with multiple ports to provide at least one tube nozzles, each tube nozzle being attached to each port of said fitting.

17. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said long and stiff member with spring-back property has a length of at least 30% of the circumference of the elliptical shape line at the intersection of a toilet bowl inside-uppermost surface and the rear end of said bowl's lip underside horizontal surface, andat least 11% spring-back.

18. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said long stiff member is an endless loop with a circumference equal to the circumference of said elliptical shape line andhas a spring-back property of less than 11%.

19. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said water supply tube and tube nozzle are one integral tubing unit.

20. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said water supply tube is connected directly to the bowl refill nipple on a toilet ballcock.

21. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said water supply tube comprises of three connected parts in the following order: a first flexible tube,a rigid inverted “U” shape tube, anda second flexible tube.

22. The bidet assembly of claim 21 wherein the end of the rigid tube connected to a flexible tube has a flare end.

23. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said long and stiff member, said water supply tube, and said tube nozzle are one integral tubing unit.

24. The bidet assembly of claim 23 wherein one end is the tube nozzle and the other end of said tubing unit is connected to a port of a multi-port fitting wherein a water supply tube is connected to a second port, andone tube nozzle is connected to each remaining port.

25. The bidet assembly of claim 14 wherein said long and stiff member comprises of two parts joined together in two opposite ports of a multi-port fitting, wherein said water supply tube is connected to a third port, andone tube nozzle is connected to each remaining port.

26. The bidet assembly of claim 25 wherein said multiple ports fitting comprises two jointed “T” fittings.

27. The bidet assembly of claim 26 wherein said two parts of long and stiff member are stiff tubes, said water supply tube comprises of four sections connected in the order given: a rigid tube,a flexible tube,an inverted “U” tube, anda fourth section of flexible tube whose free end is connected to the toilet bowl refill nipple.

28. The bidet assembly of claim 27 wherein the end of the rigid tube connected to a flexible tube has a flare end.

29. The bidet assembly of claim 24 wherein the end of at least one of the two said stiff tube members is bent to provide a tube nozzle bent toward the inside of a toilet bowl.