The present invention relates generally to a toilet system including a toilet bowl and a site-adaptable shroud for closing the space between the back of the toilet and a wall and floor behind the toilet.
Ligature-resistant design is a requirement in many institutional locations. In particular, in rooms where persons may be left unattended and where there is a risk that parts of the toilet or toilet plumbing might be used as a support to tie a ligature, such as a belt, rope or a cloth, a way to ensure that the toilet or plumbing cannot be used in such a manner is desirable. In general, ligature-resistant design is an issue that extends to the floor, since ligature attachment may occur near the floor and then the ligature may extend over another object.
Further, in other installations, shrouding the back of the toilet and plumbing is desirable to prevent possible damage to or removal of the plumbing fixtures themselves or it may be desirable to shroud the plumbing fixtures so that cleaning is simplified.
Existing shrouds for covering toilet plumbing are typically fabricated from stainless steel, for durability and anti-corrosion purposes. Each shroud is typically fabricated as a custom assembly for each installation, and each location in which the shrouds are installed may require multiple designs, since the location of wall studs and other structural features typically causes variation in the exact plumbing details for each fixture. More recently, an adjustable plastic shroud has been developed as described in U.S. Published Patent Application US20110174392A1, which is assigned to the Applicant. However, ligature attachment points may still be provided between the toilet and the shroud, since a belt, strap or other article can be inserted in gaps that exist between the shroud and the toilet, the shroud and the floor and between the shroud and the wall.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a toilet system that can be installed in a variation of toilet plumbing configurations and that prevents ligature formation.
The above objectives, among others, are achieved in an adaptable toilet system and a method of closing the back of a toilet base to a wall and floor.
The toilet system includes a toilet base including a toilet bowl and a shroud for covering the back of the toilet base and plumbing located at a rear end of the toilet base. The shroud has a mating feature that joins with a corresponding feature at a rear portion of the toilet base to prevent formation of a gap between the toilet base and a front of the shroud in at least at a top side of the area of contact between the shroud and the back of the toilet base.
In another aspect the toilet system includes a toilet seat that has a sloped edge to prevent ligature attachment. The seat may be provided by a removable plastic seat that is bolted to or bonded to a top surface of the toilet base.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate like components, and:
The present disclosure illustrates toilet systems including a shroud and a toilet base that have at least one mating feature that prevents ligature formation at the location where the shroud and toilet base meet. The toilet system further prevents formation of ligatures under the shroud as might otherwise be possible with shroud installations that do not extend to a floor to which the toilet base is mounted or to the wall behind the toilet. Shrouds are a necessity over plumbing in facilities such as prisons and mental healthcare institutions in which the plumbing or toilet base may serve as an attachment point for a ligature that a person may use in a suicide attempt. Further, shrouds may be desirable in prisons and public facilities to prevent damage to the plumbing itself. The toilet system disclosed herein has a field-adaptable shroud that can be adjusted and/or modified to cover a plumbing riser over typical variations in building plumbing rough-in dimensions. The toilet system disclosed herein also includes a toilet seat having a sloped outer edge that prevents attachment of a ligature around all or a portion of the toilet seat. The toilet seat may be bolted to or bonded to the top of the toilet base.
Referring now to
If an optical flush valve actuator is used, shroud 10 includes facilities for providing control of the electronic flush valve of plumbing riser 3, in particular, a transparent aperture or window 8 for permitting optical sensor 4 to operate while shroud 10 is installed. In hydraulic or electrical valve installations, a manual actuator 6A that operates manual flush button 6C is provided on shroud 10. A seat 5 is securely fastened to toilet base 7 by a plurality of fasteners, so that no gap is formed between seat 5 and the top surface of toilet base 7, so that a ligature cannot be formed by inserting a cord-like object between seat and the top surface of toilet base 7. Further, seat 5 has a chamfered outer edge 5A that prevents ligature formation around any part of the outside of seat 5. In the depicted example, a plurality of bolts 12 are fastened through holes disposed around the top edges of toilet base 7 and a set of caps 11 that are attached to the tops of bolts 12 can then be secured to corresponding holes in the bottom of seat 5 by a suitable adhesive or other suitable fastening arrangement, so that seat 5 cannot be easily separated from toilet base 7 without tools to remove bolts 12. Alternatively, seat 5 can be bonded directly to toilet base 7 with an adhesive or other attachment means.
Referring now to
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form, and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This U.S. patent application is a Division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/075,799 filed on Mar. 21, 2016 and published as U.S. Patent Publication 20170268213 on Sep. 21, 2017, and claims priority thereto under 35 U.S.C.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 15075799 | Mar 2016 | US |
Child | 15857795 | US |