Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a water distributor
for use in a toilet bowl flush rim and to a flush xim
including the water distributor.
It is known in the prior art to provide various
types of water.distributors in conjunction with downwardly
open toilet flush r.ims. These distributors insure rela-
tively uniform cleaning arou-nd the bowl, without requiring
complex molding o~ the rim and without the problems
closed rims sometimes have. In U.S. Patent 158,896, a
perforated pipe was used for this pur~ose. In U.S.
~ Patent 3,212,106, a plastic tubing with regular per-
:-~ forations was held in place in the rim by an interference
:~ fit. In another design, a strip of flexible material
was used for water distribution purposes in the flush
rim of U.S. Patent 4,106,131.
;:~ However, prior art water distributors often
required some type of special projection formed in the
rim to secure the distributor in the rim, or required
the use of special tools, or required excessive installa-
tion time. This added to the cost of molding the toilet
and:installing the distributor. In some cases, there
was even chipping and breakage of tne projections.
Another~problem was that~for water~conservation~
purposes, it was desired to direct the.water towards~
the inner wall of the bowl in a somewhat horizontal
direction (to improve cleaning~effectiveness~. Thus,
the art attempted to constructions~such a9 that shown~
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in U.S. Patent 4,234,975 in which a conventional ~losed
rim was used, but a separate sub-structure was required for
horizontally directing the wate~..
Thus, the ohject of the present invention is to
provide an improved water distributor for an ope~-type
flush rim.
The present invention provides a water distributor
suitable for use in a downwardly ope~ flush rim o~ a toilet
bowl, the rim being of the type having a fixed top wall and
fixed at least partially downwardly directed sidewalls with
one sidewall having a flushing water inlet, said sidewalls
being of the type devoid of support projections or grooves
for the distributor, the distributor being freely removable
from said rim, comprising a flexible compressible tube por-
tion positionable under the top wall below said inlet tofollow the bowl periphery with an upper surface suitable to
support water flow in the :rim above and outside o the tube,
the tubular portion capable of being deformed to provide
compressive retention of said distributor in said rim with-
out the need for an adhesive; a flexible generally flatplanar side surface guide portion tangentially connected to
the tube portion and extending above and below said tangen-
tial connection and positionable along one of the rim side-
: walls, and said guide portion having a plurality of at least
~:: 25 somewhat downwardly directable water channels, said water
. channels extending through said planar portion to permit
communication between a space above the distributor water
support surface in the rim and the space below the distribu-
tor in the bowl, at least one of which extends in a manner
30 ~to be in open co~munication with the rim sidewall such that
:~ : the rim sidewall can form a sidewall for t~e channel.
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~ : In accordance with-the invention the innner
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surfaces of the sidewalls of the rim are devoid of support
projections for the water distributor. The distributor
is sufficiently compressible to be normally held in
place under the top wall and between the side walls by
the compressive force of the distributor against the
side walls.
In accordance with the one embodiment, when
water is introduced into the rim, it will flow in a
conduit provided by the top and side walls of the rim
and the upper surface of the distributor. It will then
pass through the channels to a lower portion of the
toilet. Preferably the side walls of the flush rim
converge downwardly and the distributor is formed in
part with a tubular structure, with a strip acljacent
to the tube in which ~he water channels are formed.
In an especially preferred Eorm, the tube and
guide portions can be formed together in a one-piece
construction. The tube portion is s~itable to distribute
the water from the:toilet tank. When the water pressure
is sufficient, water will be foreced over the tubular
portion (or if desired through the tubular portion and
out radial holes formed at regularly spaced locations
along the tube) and then down towards the toilet bowl
inner wall. The guide structure orces the water to flow
in a partially horizontal direction, and permits the water
to flow directly against the bowl inner wall. The hori-
æontal force component that the guide gives the water
enhances cleaning and thus lowers the amount of water
needed.
The flexible nature of the water distributor
and its compressibility are sufficient to hold it inside
the rim. ~hus no additional projections formed on the
inside of the rim are needed. The distributor can be
~' inserted under the rim simply by pushing it up from
underneath and can be removed without special tools or
skills.
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A better understanding of the preferred embodi
ments of the invention will be had with reEerence to
the accompanying drawings:
~ igure 1 is a top perspective view of a toilet
having a downwardly open flush rim;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along
line 2-2 in Figure 1, showing of one embodiment of a
water distributor of the present invention installed in
the toilet of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken
along line 3-3 of Figure l;
Figure 4 is a top perspective view of a pre-
pared configuration of a water distributor such as
shown in Figure 2 apart from the toilet rim; and
Figure 5 is a cross-section view taken along
line 5-5 of Figure ~.
A water distributor 10 is best shown in Figure
4. It is pre~erably formed from an extrudable vi.n~l
plastic such as Geon (R.T.M.) (obtained from B.F.
Goodrich, Co.). After the extrusion, slits 11 are cut
through the strip 12 preferably at an angle of 45 with
respect to the longitudinal axis of the integral tube
portion 13.
The distributor 10 can be used in conjunction
with a toilet 14 having a downwardly open flush rim 15.
Water is carried from the toilet tank to the flush rim
by suitable piping. At least one end of the outlet of
the piping is positioned above the top surface 24 of the
tube portion 13 or, alternatively, the piping outlet
may be attached to a longitudinal end 16 of the distribu-
tor 10.
As best seen in Figure 2, the flush rim 15 has
~ an ou~er side wall 17 which melds into the inner lower
: wall of the toilet bowl 18. There is also a downwardly
directed inner rim side wall 19. Opposed walls 18 and
19 con~erge slightly to form a conduit 20.
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The linear water distributor is flexible so as
to be able to bend to conform to the round shape of the
rim, and the tube portion 13 is inwardly compressible
(compare Figure 2 and Figure 4~ so that the distributor
can be squeezed between walls 17 and 19 into the pocket
20. Once installed, the strip 12 abuts against the wall
17, and the tube 13 abuts against the wall 19. The
configuration of distributor as shown in Figures ~ and
5 is preferred as it assists in the insertion into the
pocket 20. As indicated in Figure 2 the distributor
can be of a more oval configuration.
From Fi~ure 5, one can see that the tube portion
13 has a series of outlets 21 on its radial periphery.
Strip 12 is for guiding purposes. It extends out from
the outer wall of the tube portion 13. Slits 11 form
a plurality of partially clownwardly directed water
channels 23.
As best seen in Figure 5, khe radial openings
~1 are in direct communication ~ith the water ch ~ els 23 so
as to form a continuous flow path. The strip 12, in
this view, appears to be almost tangential to the tube.
In an especially preferred form, the water
channels 23 extend completely through the strip 12 in
the radial direction, so that one wall 17 of the flush
rim 15 can form end walls for the channels (see Figures
2 and 3).
The present invention can easily be assembled
; in the rim. One simply inserts the distributor 10 under
the rim, and it holds itself in place. No special
tools are required for this purpose (although to expedite
matters further, one could use a flat-bladed tool to
push the distributor up into the rim). The distributor
can be easily removed for replacement. A pointed tool
can pierce into the tubular portion 13, and one can then
exert a downward pressure.
~` When water is introduced it can travel along
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the upper portion 2~ of the tube 13 until it reaches a
pressure and level where it travels radially outward
towards the wall 18. The water will then travel down
the guide slits 23 against the inner side 18 of the bowl.
If desired, water could instead be introduced through
inlet 16 into the inside of tube 13. Xn such case
water would travel therethrough and out through the
radial outlets 21 and into slits 23.
Tube 13 is the preferred form of a compressible
portion for compressive positioning in the rim 15. If
desired the tube 13 could instead be a solid mass of
compressible material and function in the previously
described manner with the strip 12 and slits 23.
The slits 11 have been illustrated as being at
a 45 angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of
the tubular member. However, this angle is no~ critical.
Other an~les ~hich provide a horizontal force to ~he
water may assist in cleaning. Further, while tlle strip
on guide 12 has been shown as being installed against
the wall 17, the distributor could be flipped upside down
so that the guide portion 12 is against the wall 19.
Moreover, slits 23 need not pass all the way
through strip 12 in a radially outward direction so as
to divide the strip 12 into separate pieces. Instead,
~5 they could be formed entirely inside the guide portion.
Also, while Figure 2 shows that the side walls 17 and 19
of the rim converge, this would not be absolutely neces-
sary and it is only part of the preferred embodiment.
Further, while flexible vinyl plastic is the preferred
material for forming the distributor, other flexible
materials might also prove suitable.
Inlet 16 is shown as being an axial inlet. It
might instead be replaced with a radial inlet at some
point along the line or more than one inlet could be
used.
Thus, while the preferred embodiments have been
described above, it should be readily apparent to those
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skilled in the art that a number of other modifications
and changes can be made to these embodiments without
departing from the invention.
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