Toilet bowl device

The integration of a grounding fitting in the toilet base conceals and simplifies the earth wire connection, addressing visibility and connectivity issues while improving aesthetics and maintenance efficiency.

JP2026010222APending Publication Date: 2026-01-21LIXIL CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2025182866
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-10-29
Publication Date
2026-01-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing toilet apparatuses with earth wires require a visible and difficult-to-connect grounding mechanism, affecting aesthetics and maintenance.

Method used

A grounding fitting is integrated into the rear wall of the toilet base, allowing the earth wire to be concealed and easily connected, improving appearance and installation efficiency.

Benefits of technology

The solution conceals the earth wire, enhancing the toilet's aesthetics and simplifying the installation and maintenance process.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To provide a toilet bowl device in which a ground wire is hardly visible and connection of the ground wire is easy.SOLUTION: The toilet bowl device 1 includes the base unit 3 to which the functional component 9 is attached, and the ground fitting 4 that is provided in the opening 325 formed in the rear wall portion 323 of the base unit 3 and fixes the ground wire 5. It is preferable that the opening portion 325 is formed at a lower end of the rear wall portion 323, and the ground fitting 4 includes a fixing portion 41 which is fixed to the 321a side of the upper surface of the base portion 3 and to which the wiring in the base portion 3 is connected, an extending portion 42 which extends from the fixing portion 41 and is disposed so as to extend along an inner surface of the rear wall portion 323, and an attachment portion 43 of the ground wire 5 which is disposed at a lower end of the extending portion 42 and is exposed inside the opening portion 325.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to toilet bowl systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various mechanisms, such as a warm water flushing mechanism, installed in a toilet apparatus require that electrical components be grounded by an earth wire. Therefore, a technology has been disclosed in which an earth fitting for attaching an earth wire is attached to the side of a base portion located at the rear of the toilet body (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-260588 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Since the earth wire is a wire that extends outward from the toilet device, it is preferable that it be located in a position that is as difficult to see as possible, and at the same time, it is also required that the earth wire be easy to connect. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a toilet apparatus including a base portion to which functional components are attached, and an earth fitting provided in an opening formed in a rear wall portion of the base portion and for fixing an earth wire. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a toilet device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a rear base portion of the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the grounding fitting of the present embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the recess of the grounding fitting and the base portion of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] An embodiment of the toilet apparatus 1 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the front-to-rear direction is defined as the front-to-rear direction when viewed from a person sitting on the toilet seat 21 of the toilet apparatus 1. The direction connecting the left and right that intersects with the front-to-rear direction is defined as the width direction. The up-down direction along the vertical direction is defined as the vertical direction. In the drawings, F indicates the front of the toilet apparatus 1, and R indicates the rear.

[0008] As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet apparatus 1 comprises a toilet body 10, a toilet seat 21, a toilet lid 22, a base 3, and a grounding fitting 4. The toilet apparatus 1 is a flush-type apparatus that is placed, for example, in a toilet room (not shown) and flushes waste into the sewer. The toilet body 10 is a container with a recess that is open at the top, and a drain outlet is formed at the bottom. The toilet seat 21 is a roughly annular, flat member with an opening in the center that communicates with the opening of the toilet body 10, and is placed on the top surface of the toilet body 10 and attached so as to be able to open and close. The toilet lid 22 is placed on top of the toilet seat 21 and is attached so as to be able to open and close like the toilet seat 21, covering the recesses of the toilet seat 21 and the toilet body 10.

[0009] The base part 3 is disposed behind the toilet body 10. Functional parts 9 such as a hose, a flushing nozzle, a power supply unit, a control circuit board, an electric opening / closing unit that electrically opens and closes the toilet seat 21 and toilet lid 22, a valve unit, various pipes, etc. (all not shown) are attached to the base part 3. The functional parts 9 may include one or more of the exemplary mechanisms.

[0010] The base portion 3 has a front base portion 31, a rear base portion 32, and a cover portion 33. The cover portion 33 is a cover that continuously covers the front base portion 31 and the rear base portion 32. The cover portion 33 is connected to a hinge portion of the toilet seat 21. The rear portion of the cover portion 33 covers the periphery of the side wall portion 322 of the rear base portion 32.

[0011] The front base portion 31 is made of a resin plate and has various mechanisms attached thereto. The front base portion 31 is disposed at the rear of the toilet body 10.

[0012] The rear base portion 32 is disposed behind the front base portion 31. The rear base portion 32 is molded from resin and has a predetermined height. As shown in FIG. 2 , the rear base portion 32 has a rear base main body portion 321, a side wall portion 322, and a rear wall portion 323.

[0013] The rear base main body 321 is disposed in the space behind the front base 31. The rear base main body 321 is formed with concave and convex portions that match the external shapes of the components that make up each mechanism, and each functional component 9 is housed in a concave portion or supported by a convex portion. For example, the rear base main body 321 is formed with an upper surface 321a formed at one upper end in the width direction and extending parallel to the installation surface of the base 3, and a detergent tank 91 that contains detergent to be supplied to the flush water of the toilet is fitted into a concave portion 321b formed in the upper surface 321a. The rear base main body 321 has a grounding fitting placement recess 34 for placing a grounding fitting 4, which will be described later.

[0014] The grounding metal mounting recess 34 is formed on the upper surface 321a near the recess 321b in which the detergent tank 91 is mounted, and is a partially recessed portion that matches the shape of the grounding metal 4. The grounding metal mounting recess 34 has a T-shaped recess 34a, an opening communicating portion 34b (see FIG. 4), and a receiving surface 34c (see FIG. 4).

[0015] The T-shaped recess 34a is a generally T-shaped depression formed at a shallow position on the upper surface 321a. The opening communication portion 34b is a hole that extends downward in the thickness direction of the rear base main body portion 321 from one end of the T-shaped recess 34a in the width direction. The receiving surface 34c is a flat surface that extends in the vertical direction along the opening communication portion 34b that extends in the vertical direction. The receiving surface 34c is the inner wall of a hole that is located on the front side of the opening communication portion 34b.

[0016] The side wall portion 322 is a surface of the outer edge of the rear base main body portion 321 that extends in the front-to-rear direction on one side and the other side in the width direction of the toilet apparatus 1. The side wall portion 322 stands upright in the height direction of the rear base main body portion 321. The side wall portion 322 constitutes the outer wall of the rear base portion 32.

[0017] The rear wall portion 323 stands upright in the height direction of the rear base main body portion 321 at the rear of the toilet apparatus 1 in the front-to-rear direction of the outer edge of the rear base main body portion 321. The rear wall portion 323 extends continuously with the side wall portion 322, and constitutes the outer wall of the rear base portion 32.

[0018] The rear wall 323 is formed with a predetermined thickness and gently slopes inward of the rear base main body 321 from the bottom to the top. The thickness of the rear wall 323 becomes thinner from the bottom to the top. As shown in FIG. 2, a part of the top end of the rear wall 323 is continuous with the top surface 321a of the rear base main body 321. The rear wall 323 extends rearward and outward from the opening communicating portion 34b of the grounding metal mounting recess 34 and is disposed opposite the receiving surface 34c. An opening 325 is formed at the bottom end of the rear wall 323, through which a part of the grounding metal 4 (described later) is exposed.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the opening 325 is formed by cutting out the lower end side of the rear wall 323 in a generally U-shape.

[0020] The grounding fitting 4 is a fitting that connects the wiring of the functional component 9 arranged inside the base part 3 to the ground wire 5 (see FIG. 4) and fixes the ground wire 5. The grounding fitting 4 is a thin metal member in which a flat T-shaped portion is connected to a vertically elongated surface that extends in a direction intersecting the T-shaped surface. As shown in FIG. 3, the grounding fitting 4 has a fixed portion 41, an extending portion 42, and an attachment portion 43.

[0021] The fixing part 41 is a flat T-shaped part of the grounding metal fitting 4. The fixing part 41 is arranged so as to fit into the T-shaped recess 34a of the grounding metal fitting arrangement recess 34, and is fixed with screws to the upper surface 321a side of the rear base main body part 321. In addition to screw holes for fixing, the fixing part 41 has a plurality of through holes 411 formed therein, and is configured so that wiring inside the base part 3 can be connected via terminals.

[0022] The extending portion 42 is a flat, vertically elongated portion that bends and extends from one end in the width direction of the T-shaped fixing portion 41. The extending portion 42 is inserted into the opening communication portion 34b and is arranged so as to extend along the inner surface of the rear wall portion 323. The extending portion 42 faces the receiving surface 34c. The extending portion 42 and the fixing portion 41 extend in directions that are substantially perpendicular to each other.

[0023] The mounting portion 43 is an end portion of the grounding fitting 4 that is disposed at the lower end of the extending portion 42. The mounting portion 43 has a bent portion 431, a mounting surface 432, and a through-hole 433. The bent portion 431 bends from the lower end of the extending portion 42 and extends in a direction approaching the opening 325 of the rear wall portion 323. The mounting surface 432 is a surface that bends from the end of the bent portion 431 that is not connected to the extending portion 42 and extends in a direction approximately parallel to the extending portion 42. The mounting surface 432 is disposed facing the opening 325 of the rear wall portion 323 and is exposed inside the opening 325. The through-hole 433 is a hole formed in the mounting surface 432, and allows the attachment of the ground wire 5 and a terminal 51 for attaching the ground wire 5.

[0024] 4, the grounding fitting 4 is easy to install because, by fitting the fixing portion 41 into the T-shaped recess 34a formed on the upper surface 321a of the rear base main body 321, the extension portion 42 passes through the opening communication portion 34b and the mounting portion 43 is exposed from the opening 325. Furthermore, even if the extension portion 42 is pushed and bent toward the front of the toilet apparatus 1 during the process of fixing the grounding wire to the mounting portion 43 from the opening 325, the mounting portion 43 is prevented from moving further back from the opening 325 because it is supported by the receiving surface 34c.

[0025] This embodiment provides the following advantages. The toilet apparatus 1 is configured to include a base 3 to which the functional components 9 are attached, and a grounding fitting 4 that is provided in an opening 325 formed in the rear wall 323 of the base 3 and that secures the grounding wire 5. Because the grounding fitting 4 is provided in the opening 325 formed in the rear wall 323 of the base 3, the grounding wire attached to the grounding fitting 4 can be drawn to the rear of the toilet apparatus 1. This makes the grounding wire 5 less unsightly, improving the appearance of the toilet apparatus 1. Because the grounding wire can be attached through the opening 325, the work of attaching the grounding wire 5 can be simplified. Furthermore, neatening up the wiring, such as the power cord from an external power source, also makes it easier to clean the toilet room in which the toilet apparatus 1 is installed.

[0026] According to this embodiment, the opening 325 is formed at the lower end of the rear wall 323. The grounding fitting 4 includes a fixed portion 41 that is fixed to the upper surface 321a of the base 3 and to which wiring within the base 3 is connected; an extending portion 42 that extends from the fixed portion 41 and is arranged to extend along the inner surface of the rear wall 323; and a mounting portion 43 for the ground wire 5 that is arranged at the lower end of the extending portion 42 and exposed inside the opening 325. The grounding fitting 4 has the extending portion 42 that extends from the fixed portion 41 that is arranged on the upper surface 321a of the base 3, and the mounting portion 43 for the ground wire 5 is arranged at the lower end of the extending portion 42. Therefore, simply by fixing the grounding fitting 4 to the upper surface 321a of the base 3, the mounting portion 43 that is arranged at the lower end of the extending portion 42 can be exposed inside the opening 325. This makes it easy to install the grounding fitting 4. By positioning the grounding fitting 4 on the upper surface 321a side of the base part 3, wiring from the functional parts 9 inside the base part 3 can be easily connected to the grounding fitting 4, which makes grounding itself easy.

[0027] According to this embodiment, the base 3 is configured to include a receiving surface 34c that extends opposite the extending portion 42. Because the receiving surface 34c faces the extending portion 42 of the grounding metal fitting 4, even if the extending portion 42 is bent, the receiving surface 34c can support the extending portion 42. Therefore, the grounding wire 5 can be attached to the attachment portion 43 exposed from the opening 325 formed at the lower end of the rear wall 323 without having to worry about the extending portion 42 being bent. This achieves the same effect as above.

[0028] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes modifications, improvements, etc., within the scope of achieving the object of the present disclosure. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the base portion 3 is divided into the front base portion 31 and the rear base portion 32, and an opening is formed in the rear base portion 32, but the base portion 3 may not be divided into front and rear portions. The shape of the grounding fittings and the shape of the grounding fitting placement recesses for attaching the grounding fittings 4 are also not limited to the shapes described above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 toilet device, 3 base portion, 4 earth fitting, 5 earth wire, 9 functional part, 34 earth fitting arrangement recess, 34c receiving surface, 41 fixed portion, 42 extension portion, 43 mounting portion, 323 rear wall portion, 325 opening

Claims

1. a base portion to which functional components are attached; The toilet device comprises an earth fitting provided in an opening formed in a rear wall portion of the base portion and for fixing an earth wire.

2. The opening is formed at a lower end of the rear wall portion, The earth fitting is a fixing portion fixed to an upper surface side of the base portion and to which wiring within the base portion is connected; an extension portion extending from the fixing portion and disposed so as to extend along an inner surface of the rear wall portion; The toilet apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a mounting portion for the ground wire, the mounting portion being disposed at a lower end of the extension portion and exposed inside the opening.

3. The toilet apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the base portion has a receiving surface extending opposite the extension portion.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Installation structure of earth fitting of hot water washing apparatus

    JP1999260588A