Toilet seat assembly
AssigneeBemis Manufacturing Company
InventorJacqueline Sylvia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A toilet seat assembly is provided including a seat base with a housing and a seat lid, and further including a washing apparatus, a drying apparatus, and a spray canister device positioned in the housing. A controller having a user interface is configured to communicate with a control unit of the toilet seat assembly to control operation of the components of the toilet seat assembly. So configured, a user may operate the toilet seat assembly to clean the user's perineal region via the washing apparatus, dry the user's perineal region via the drying apparatus, and spray the user's perineal region with one or more liquid products via the spray canister device.
Claims20
A toilet seat assembly including a washing apparatus, the washing apparatus comprising:
- a spray wand comprising a body portion and a head portion, the head portion comprising a nozzle configured to deliver one or more liquid products therethrough;
- a collar shroud positioned in the toilet seat assembly, the collar shroud extending around at least a portion of a surface of the spray wand and comprising one or more bactericidal light sources positioned proximate the spray wand;
- a water reservoir positioned in a seat base of the toilet seat assembly;
- a fixed motor mount,
- a motor jointed to the motor mount;
- a slide plate joined to an end of the body portion of the spray wand that is opposite to the head portion, the slide plate being configured to be moved by the motor;
- and a toilet seat assembly controller operatively coupled to the spray wand, the toilet seat assembly controller comprising a force sensor having an actuator, the actuator being joined to the motor mount and being configured to:
- receive a user input from a user interface;
- cause the motor to move the slide plate, thereby moving the spray wand inside the collar shroud to a retracted or to an extended position based on the user input, such that in the retracted position, the slide plate contacts the actuator and a contact between the slide plate and the actuator is sensed by the force sensor;
- trigger rinsing of the spray wand with water from the water reservoir upon sensing by the force sensor of the contact between the slide plate and the actuator;
- and
- activate at least one bactericidal light source to disinfect the spray wand, upon sensing by the force sensor of the contact between the slide plate and the actuator.
A method of disinfecting a washing apparatus positioned in a toilet seat assembly, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a toilet seat assembly controller, a user input from a user interface operatively connected the toilet seat assembly;
- providing a fixed motor mount in the toilet seat assembly;
- providing a motor joined to the motor mount in the toilet seat assembly;
- providing, in the toilet seat assembly, a slide plate configured to be moved by the motor;
- providing a force sensor having an actuator, the actuator being joined to the motor mount;
- moving, by the toilet seat assembly controller via the motor, the slide plate and a spray wand of the washing apparatus joined to the slide plate inside a collar shroud to a retracted or to an extended position based on the user input, wherein the collar shroud is positioned in the toilet seat assembly and configured to extend around at least a portion of a surface of the spray wand and to expose at least one bactericidal light source to the spray wand, such that in the retracted position, the slide plate contacts the actuator and a contact between the slide plate and the actuator is sensed by the force sensor;
- triggering, by the toilet seat assembly controller, rinsing of the spray wand of the washing apparatus with water from a water reservoir, upon sensing by the force sensor of the contact between the slide plate and the actuator;
- and
- activating, by the toilet seat assembly controller, the at least one bactericidal light source to disinfect the spray wand of the washing apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.