Patent Application
20100024115
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The invention relates to toilets having a portion (e.g. particularly part of a siphon trap) installed behind a room wall.
In many bathrooms space is a valuable commodity. When a bath, a toilet, and a vanity are all placed in a conventionally sized bathroom, most of the floor space is quickly used up.
Typically, toilets have had a footprint defined by the space needed to accommodate the bowl/seat, a water storage tank, and a trapway extending from the bowl. In particular, conventional trapways extend up from the bottom of the bowl to a weir, then down via a siphon formation leg, and then typically transversely to a sewer outlet. This takes up a considerable portion of the needed footprint for a toilet.
The trapway serves multiple purposes including trapping sewer gas by formation of a water seal, retaining water in the bowl prior to flushing, and assisting in the formation of a siphon during the flush cycle. The shape of the trapway can be critical to performance of the toilet in terms of cleaning ability and water use.
There have been some attempts to minimize the footprint of a toilet in a bathroom by forming convoluted trapways which do not go as far rearward as conventional trapways. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 381,660 and 502,452. However, this type of construction of the trapway creates inefficiencies and complicates production.
Others have attempted to place a portion of the trapway behind the room wall so that less of the toilet extends into the room to take up room space. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,878,483, 3,271,793 and 6,415,457. However, such in-wall trapways have not taken optimal advantage of the space behind the room wall, and have created their own inefficiencies in operation.
Hence, a need exists for toilets which reduce the room footprint thereof in an efficient manner while still providing equal or better performance over conventional wash down toilets.
The present invention provides a toilet suitable to be installed through a bathroom wall such that part of the toilet is in front of the bathroom wall and another part of the toilet is behind the bathroom wall. In one form the toilet includes a bowl portion suitable to be positioned in the bathroom in front of the bathroom wall and a trap with an up leg connecting the bowl with a weir portion of the trap and a siphon creating portion extending down from the weir.
The siphon creating portion has a first path positionable behind the bathroom wall suitable to direct water sideways in one direction and a second path suitable to thereafter direct that water in a sideways direction opposite to said one direction. The structure of the trap is such that during the flush cycle the formation of the siphon occurs proximate the intersection of the first path and the second path.
An outlet may be formed at a down stream end of the second path. The outlet may be aligned along a central longitudinal axis of the toilet bowl.
According to another aspect of the invention, the first path may extend both downwardly and sidewardly in a sloping fashion, or an outlet may be formed adjacent, but not at, a downstream end of the second path. Further, an accumulation toe area may be formed at the downstream end of the second path.
According to still another aspect of the invention, the first and second paths may be formed along a bell shaped down leg of the trap.
According to another aspect of the invention, the toilet bowl may be made from a ceramic material, and the first and second paths may be made from a non-ceramic material. The first and second paths may be formed in a unitary plastic structure.
In another form the toilet includes a bowl portion suitable to be positioned in the bathroom in front of the bathroom wall. The toilet further includes a trap with an up leg connecting the bowl with a weir portion of the trap and a siphon creating portion extending down from the weir. The siphon creating portion has a first vertical path outside the bathroom wall that extends from the weir along a central axis of the bowl, and a second path positionable inside the bathroom wall in the form of a foot that directs water in a sideways direction.
According to one aspect of the invention, the bathroom wall may be a skirt portion of a bathroom floor, the first path may be outside the bathroom wall, and the second path may extend in an essentially horizontal direction.
According to other aspects of the invention, the bowl may be made from a ceramic material, and the first and second paths may be made from a non-ceramic material. The first and second paths may be formed in a unitary plastic structure.
The present invention additionally provides a toilet installed through a bathroom wall such that part of the toilet is in front of the bathroom wall and another part of the toilet is behind the bathroom wall between adjacent studs of the wall. The toilet includes a bowl portion positioned in the bathroom in front of the bathroom wall. The toilet further includes a trap having an up leg connecting the bowl with a weir portion of the trap and a siphon creating portion extending down from the weir. The siphon creating portion has a first path suitable to direct water sideways in one direction behind the bathroom wall and a second path suitable to thereafter direct that water in a sideways direction opposite to one said direction.
According to one aspect of the invention, the studs are preferably 2×4 inches and are between twelve inches and sixteen inches apart.
Thus, the present invention provides a toilet where a significant part of the trapway can be behind the room wall (preferably between adjacent wall studs). Thus, the footprint of the toilet is reduced.
Importantly, the fact that the trap has portions of it extending sideways between the studs prevents the need for the toilet to use up extra space behind the studs. Most preferably, the trapways efficiently utilize the otherwise wasted lateral space between the studs of the wall to increase an effective length of the “down” leg and the “out” leg.
Further, production is simplified as the more convoluted trapway parts that go behind the room wall don't need to be made of the same material as the main bowl, and in fact can be made separately. Moreover, additional space between the studs can be used for mounting a tank if desired, further improving the room aesthetics.
These and still other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. What follows is merely a description of some preferred embodiments of the present invention. To assess the full scope of the invention the claims should be looked to as these preferred embodiments are not intended to be the only embodiments within the scope of the claims.
Referring now to
There are a pair of drywall sheets 20 separated and supported by a pair of studs 22 defining a cavity 24 therebetween. The studs 22 may be any kind of studs. However, it is preferred that they be the usual 2×6 studs conventionally used in drywall construction. It is contemplated that 2×4 studs or other stud sizes could also be used to construct the wall.
With the present invention tank 16 may be located as shown in wall cavity 24. However, the tank 16 may alternatively be located within the bathroom (compare
Notably, the trapway 18 includes a section that is behind frontal wall 12, most preferably inside the wall cavity 24. The trapway 18 extends back from an opening 26 in the bottom of the bowl 14 along an up leg 28. The up leg 28 then peaks at a weir 30, preferably near one of the sheets 20. The weir 30 then extends through one of the sheets 20 such that the trapway 18 enters the wall cavity 24.
The trapway 18 then has a siphon creating portion that extends down from the weir 30. In the embodiment shown in
The down leg 136 extends downwards to a heel 138, at which point the down leg 136 begins to extend sideways as an out leg 140. The out leg 140 has an upwardly bending portion 142 that, in some configurations, may extend upward far enough to act as a second weir. The out leg 140 bends down to an outlet 144 that connects to the waste line 146. The outlet 144 is aligned along a central longitudinal axis of the toilet 10 and located directly below the weir 30.
Hence, the space between the studs is used to provide this trapway with room to efficiently operate. When the toilet 10 is between flush cycles, the bowl 14 is filled with water and a water seal is formed by water filling the up leg 28 up to the weir 30. This water seal prevents the flow of sewer gases from the waste line out of the opening 26 of the bowl 14 and into the surrounding atmosphere.
When the toilet 10 is flushed, a siphon is formed in the siphon creating portion of the trapway 18. First, water from the tank 16 (or other water source), is supplied to the bowl 14. This quickly increases the amount of water in the bowl 14 and raises the water level in the up leg 28 over the weir 30 and into the lower portions of the trapway 18 (i.e., the sideways-extending leg 132, the upper bend 134, the down leg 136, the heel 138, and the out leg 140). The water may corkscrew as it bends at the top of weir 30 and travels through the sideways-extending leg 132 and the down leg 136 to the heel 138. In the area of the heel 138 and the upwardly bending portion 142 of the out leg 140, a siphon is induced.
Notably, both the corkscrew pattern of the water and the sudden redirection of the water at the heel 138 assist in the induction of the siphon. Creation of a strong siphon is promoted, since much of the water is below the weir 30 at the time and location of siphon formation. Due to the strong siphon action, it is contemplated that a water jet may not be necessary to form the siphon. However, a water jet may also be incorporated into the toilets described herein.
Conceptually, the siphon creating portion after the weir can be understood to be a first path that extends sideways and a second path that extends sideways opposite the first path. When the water first flows through the intersection between the two paths, the flow of the water slows and a siphon is induced. At the down stream end of the second path, the outlet directs the waste water into the waste line.
As the first and second paths extend, at least in part, laterally in the wall cavity 24, the length of the siphon creating portion of the trapway 18 is increased, even though there is relatively little space within the wall cavity 24. The increased length of the trapway 18 before the point of siphon formation promotes the formation of a strong siphon.
Referring next to
In this form, the toilet 10A has an portion of the trapway 18 above and outside of the skirt portion 232. In particular, the exterior portion of the trapway 18 includes the up leg 28 which extends up to the weir 30 and transitions into a down leg 238. As shown, the down leg 238 extends vertically and along a central axis of the toilet 10A.
The down leg 238 extends into the skirt portion 232 of the floor 234. In the skirt portion 232, the down leg 238 transitions at a heel 240 into an out leg 242 or foot. The out leg 242 extends in a sideways direction away from the central axis of the toilet 10A. As shown, this sideways extension is lateral from the toilet 10A and in an essentially horizontal direction. The out leg 242 eventually has a bend 244 with an outlet 246 that can be connected to a waste line 248.
It is contemplated that the foot of the toilet may to extend in directions other than a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the toilet. The direction of foot extension may be restricted by the placement of studs in the skirt portion 232 of the floor 234 or by the location of the waste water pipe connection.
In operation, the toilet will work similar to a standard serpentine trapway with the siphon forming proximate the heel 240 between the down leg 238 and the out leg 242. However, in this form, the water is directed sideways and away from the central axis of the toilet by the out leg instead of forwards towards the bowl. The sideways extension of the out leg 242 allows for a longer out leg, as the standard forward extension of the out leg is limited by the distance the toilet is placed from the wall. Moreover, as the out leg 242 is concealed by the skirt portion 232 of the floor 234, the length of the out leg 242 can be increased without having a portion of the trapway 18 extending across an exterior surface of the bathroom floor.
Although this embodiment shows the down leg 238 extending into a skirt portion 232 of the floor 234, it is contemplated that the down leg 238 could extend into a floor not having a skirt portion. In this form, once in the floor, the down leg 238 may extend away from the central axis of the toilet within the floor.
Referring next to
Upon flushing, a siphon is formed in the lower end of the concealed portion of the trapway 18. When the toilet 10B is flushed, the water is sent over the weir 30 and down and along a first path in the diagonal down leg 332. When the water enters the spoon section 334 at the bottom of the diagonal down leg 332, the water is redirected along a second path across the cross leg 336 (and over the outlet 340) into the accumulation toe area 338. The water collects between the accumulation toe area 338 and the spoon section 334 to seal the trapway 18. Once the water jumps across the cross leg 336, the stack continues to fill with water at a sufficient rate to initiate a siphon. Once the siphon is formed, the collected water will be pulled down the outlet 340 and into a waste line by the force of the siphon.
Referring next to
The bell-shaped portion 432 assists in forming a siphon when the toilet 10C is flushed. When flushed, water flows over the weir 30 and down the down leg 434. As the water enters the bell-shaped portion 432, at least some of the water follows the gradually outwardly sloping wall away from the central axis of the toilet 10C along a first path in a sideways direction. This water is then suddenly splashed towards the center of the trapway 18 along a second path in another sideways direction when it hits the inwardly sloping wall of the bell-shaped portion 432. The redirection of water back towards the center of the trapway 18 results in a brief accumulation of water near the bottom of the bell-shaped portion 432 permits water to collect within the bell-shaped portion 432 to initiate a siphon.
In the various forms described above, different materials may be used to form the components of the toilets and the associated trapways. For example, the bowl and portions of the trapway outside of the wall may be made from a ceramic material or other standard toilet fabrication material to provide a pleasant appearing toilet. The portion of the trapway within the wall or floor may be formed of a ceramic material or a non-ceramic material such as a plastic or metal. It is particularly contemplated that the first path and the second path may be formed in a unitary plastic structure.
Most preferably the trapways described herein don't require significant constriction of the trapway to induce the siphon. Thus, these trapways do not sacrifice cross-sectional flow area to form the siphon, and thus don't increase clogging risk.
Thus, the present invention provides toilets which use less bathroom space, yet don't compromise on toilet performance or require significant extra space behind the room wall. Further, they don't significantly increase production costs.
It should be appreciated that various other modifications and variations to the preferred embodiments can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.
The invention provides toilets suitable for installation partially behind a room wall and partially in front of it.
