Bidet for toilet having adjustable position of bidet nozzle unit

Abstract

The present invention relates to a "bidet for a toilet having an adjustable position of a bidet nozzle unit," and the purpose thereof is to improve the convenience of use by allowing a user to adjust a cleaning position by moving a bidet nozzle unit, from which cleaning water is ejected, forward and backward as well as rotating same left and right according to the user's physical condition. According to this "bidet for a toilet having an adjustable position of a bidet nozzle unit" of the present invention, when the cleaning position is not correct during a process in which a bidet nozzle unit (140) moves forward to carry out a cleaning mode (or bidet mode), the user is able to adjust the cleaning position by moving the bidet nozzle unit (140) forward and backward as well as rotating same in the left and right directions via an operation unit of a control panel (160). That is, as the bidet nozzle unit (140) is moved forward and backward as well as in the left and right directions by an additional operation of the user, the cleaning mode can be carried out according to the user's physical condition, thereby doubling the convenience of use. In addition, as a sector gear (231) is accommodated in a gear accommodation groove (242) of a support bracket (240) to limit a left-right rotation angle of a gear bracket (230), a guide rail (210) can be effectively prevented from being excessively rotated left and right together with the gear bracket (230).

Description

Toilet bidet with adjustable bidet nozzle unit

[0001] The present invention relates to a bidet installed in a toilet; more specifically, to a "bidet for a toilet with adjustable bidet nozzle unit position" that allows a user to improve convenience of use by adjusting the position of the bidet nozzle unit from which cleaning water is ejected not only forward and backward but also in the left and right directions.

[0002] Generally, a bidet refers to a flushing toilet seat. It is a sanitary fixture installed not only in accommodations such as hotels and inns but also in Western-style toilets in ordinary homes, allowing users to clean their anus and surrounding areas with water at appropriate pressure after defecation, thereby eliminating the need for toilet paper.

[0003] This bidet is broadly composed of a toilet seat positioned to cover the top of the toilet bowl and having an open center, a bidet nozzle unit positioned to move back and forth behind the opening of the seat to spray cleaning water, and a control panel positioned on one side of the seat equipped with multiple control buttons to control stop / power, seat temperature, and the operation of the bidet nozzle unit. A seating sensor is provided on the seat to detect whether a user is sitting on it. The control panel determines whether a user is sitting on the seat via the seating sensor; if the user presses the control button (cleaning button) while seated, the bidet nozzle unit advances a certain distance and sprays cleaning water onto a part of the body. Once cleaning is complete, the bidet nozzle unit retracts and returns to its original position.

[0004] However, in conventional bidets for Western-style toilets, if the cleaning position of the bidet nozzle unit does not suit the user, there is the inconvenience of having to manually move the user's body to align the cleaning position.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve these problems; the objective of the present invention is to provide a "bidet for a toilet with adjustable bidet nozzle unit" that can improve user convenience by allowing the bidet nozzle unit, from which cleaning water is ejected, to be moved not only forward and backward but also left and right according to the user's physical condition to adjust the cleaning position.

[0006] The present invention, for achieving the above-mentioned purpose, comprises: a main body having a toilet seat placed on top of a toilet bowl with a central open portion so that a user can sit and defecate; a bidet nozzle unit positioned at the rear lower side of the toilet seat to move back and forth toward the inside of the toilet bowl and having a nozzle provided at its tip to spray cleaning water; a control panel positioned on one side of the main body and having a plurality of operating parts for controlling the bidet nozzle unit; and a driving device positioned inside the central portion of the main body and for adjusting the position of the bidet nozzle unit in the forward, backward, left, and right directions through the operation of the operating parts of the control panel while the bidet nozzle unit is advanced toward the inside of the toilet bowl;

[0007] The above-mentioned driving device comprises: a guide rail having a rack gear provided longitudinally on one side and a rear end of the bidet nozzle unit slidably coupled in the longitudinal direction; a first forward / reverse motor fixedly disposed at the rear end of the bidet nozzle unit, having a first pinion gear provided on a rotation axis that meshes with the rack gear of the guide rail, and driving in forward / reverse directions by means of an operating signal of the control panel to slide the bidet nozzle unit in the forward or reverse direction; and a gear bracket fixedly disposed at the center of the bottom surface of the guide rail and formed with a sector gear protruding at a predetermined angle on its upper surface; The invention is characterized by comprising: a support bracket fixedly disposed on the inner side of the central part of the main body, wherein the central part of the gear bracket is axially coupled to the upper surface to support the gear bracket so as to be rotatable left and right together with the guide rail, and wherein the upper surface is formed in an arc shape at a predetermined angle to accommodate the sector gear of the gear bracket and has a gear receiving groove provided to limit the left and right rotation angle of the gear bracket; and a second forward / reverse motor fixedly disposed on the upper part of the support bracket, wherein a second pinion gear that meshes with the sector gear of the gear bracket is provided on a rotation axis, and which is driven in forward / reverse directions by a signal from the control panel to rotate the guide rail in the left and right directions together with the gear bracket.

[0008] According to the present invention’s “Bidet for a Toilet with Adjustable Bidet Nozzle Unit” configured as described above; if the cleaning position is incorrect during the process where the bidet nozzle unit advances to perform a cleaning mode (or bidet mode), the user can adjust the cleaning position by moving the bidet nozzle unit forward and backward, as well as rotating it left and right, through the operation part of the control panel. That is, since the bidet nozzle unit moves not only forward and backward but also left and right through additional operation by the user, the cleaning mode can be performed in accordance with the user’s physical condition, thereby providing an effect that doubles user convenience.

[0009] In addition, according to the present invention, the “bidet for a toilet capable of position adjustment of the bidet nozzle unit” has the advantage of effectively preventing the guide rail from rotating excessively left and right together with the gear bracket by receiving a sector gear in the gear receiving groove of the support bracket and limiting the left and right rotation angle of the gear bracket.

[0010] FIG. 1 schematically shows a bidet for a toilet according to the present invention.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a bidet nozzle unit for a toilet to which the present invention is applied.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a bidet nozzle unit according to the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the driving device of a bidet nozzle unit according to the present invention.

[0014] Figure 5 shows the operation of the cleaning water spray during the cleaning mode of the bidet according to the present invention.

[0015] Figure 6 shows the forward and backward movement of a bidet nozzle unit through a driving device according to the present invention.

[0016] Figure 7 shows the left and right movement of a bidet nozzle unit through a driving device according to the present invention.

[0017] *Explanation of Drawing Symbols*

[0018] 10..Toilet 20..Flood tank 100..Bidet

[0019] 110..Main unit 120..Toilet seat 130..Seat sensor

[0020] 140..Bidet nozzle unit 141..Nozzle 150..Distributor

[0021] 160..Control panel 161..Stop / Power button 162..Clean button

[0022] 163..Bidet button 164..Drying button 165..Deodorizing button

[0023] 166..Adjustment stick 200..Drive mechanism 210..Guide rail

[0024] 211. Rack gear 220..1st forward / reverse motor 221..1st pinion gear

[0025] 230..Gear bracket 231..Sector gear 240..Support bracket

[0026] 241..Shaft 242..Gear receiving groove 250..2nd forward / reverse motor

[0027] 251..2nd pinion gear

[0028] Hereinafter, one preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Briefly describing the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 to 4 show the overall configuration of a bidet for a toilet and the configuration of a bidet nozzle unit according to the present invention; FIG. 5 shows the operation of spraying cleaning water in a bidet for a toilet according to the present invention; and FIGS. 6 and 7 show the movement process of the bidet nozzle unit through a driving device according to the present invention. {For reference, in the description of the present invention, terms such as front, rear, both ends, left, right, upper side, lower side, horizontal direction, front and back, etc. are intended to specify relative positions or directions and do not imply absolute positions or directions.}

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2; A bidet (100) for a toilet according to the present invention comprises a main body (110) on which electrical components are arranged and which is fixed to the upper rear portion of a toilet (10); a toilet seat (120) hinge-coupled to the front portion of the main body (110) and placed to cover the upper portion of the toilet (10); a seating sensor (130) for detecting whether a user is seated; a bidet nozzle unit (140) which is arranged to move forward and backward as well as rotate left and right from the rear lower portion of the toilet seat (120) and is provided with a nozzle (141) capable of spraying cleaning water from the tip; a control panel (160) which is arranged on one side of the main body (110) and is provided with a plurality of operating parts (161~166) for controlling the bidet nozzle unit (140); and when the bidet nozzle unit (140) is advanced toward the inside of the toilet (10), the control panel (160) It is equipped with a driving device (200) for adjusting the position of the bidet nozzle unit (140) in the forward, backward, left, and right directions through the operation of the control unit (166).

[0030] The main body (110) is placed on the upper rear of the toilet (10), and various electrical components are placed thereon. A toilet seat (120) is hinge-connected to the main body (110) and placed on top of the toilet (10) to cover it, with the central part open so that a user can sit and relieve themselves.

[0031] The seating sensor (130) is positioned on one side of the toilet seat (120) to detect whether a user is seated, and it is preferable that this be a capacitive sensor capable of detecting contact with the user's buttocks area through which a microcurrent flows. The seating sensor (130) is programmed to determine whether the user sits on the toilet seat (120) to relieve themselves or stands up after relieving themselves.

[0032] The bidet nozzle unit (140) is installed in the central part of the main body (110), and its tip is positioned to be inclined downward toward the center of the toilet (10). In particular, the bidet nozzle unit (140) is positioned to be able to move forward and backward from the rear lower side of the toilet seat (120), and a nozzle (141) is provided to spray cleaning water from the tip. More specifically, the bidet nozzle unit (140) is positioned so that its position can be adjusted in the forward, backward, left, and right directions through a driving device (200) inside the central part of the main body (110); and it is equipped with a nozzle (141) provided at the upper tip to spray cleaning water toward the user's anus and local area, and a distributor (150) that selects and guides cleaning water flowing in from the outside through either the nozzle (141) or the cleaning nozzle (142) when a cleaning water valve (not shown) is opened. The distributor (150) selects and guides cleaning water flowing in from the outside by motor driving according to each control mode, and its operation is programmed according to each mode.

[0033] The control panel (160) is positioned on one side of the main body (110) so that the user can conveniently operate it while seated, and a plurality of control parts (161~166) are arranged thereon to control various functions such as stop / power (161), cleaning (162), bidet (163), drying (164), deodorization (165), and a bidet nozzle unit position adjustment stick (166; also known as a joystick). That is, when the user presses the cleaning button (162) or the bidet button (163) after defecating; the bidet nozzle unit (140) advances by a set length, and the distributor (150) guides the cleaning water to the nozzle (141), thereby causing the cleaning water to be sprayed for a certain period of time. Meanwhile, when the user stands up from the toilet seat (120); In the control panel (160), the water flushing valve (not shown) of the water tank (20) in which water is stored is opened by means of a mechanism or electrical operation to perform the water flushing operation.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4; the driving device (200) is intended to allow the user to adjust the cleaning position according to their body condition by moving the bidet nozzle unit (160) forward and backward, as well as rotating it left and right, through the operating part (166; adjustment stick) of the control panel (160) while the bidet nozzle unit (140) moves forward to perform a cleaning mode (or bidet mode). To this end, the driving device (200) according to the present invention comprises a guide rail (210) to which a bidet nozzle unit (140) is slidably coupled, a first forward / reverse motor (220) that slides the bidet nozzle unit (140) in a forward or backward direction, a gear bracket (230) disposed on the bottom surface of the guide rail (210) and having a sector gear (231) formed on its upper surface, a support bracket (240) disposed on the inner side of the central part of the main body (110) and having the central part of the gear bracket (230) coupled to an axle (241) to support the gear bracket (230) so as to be rotatable left and right together with the guide rail (210), and a second forward / reverse motor (250) disposed on the upper part of the support bracket (240) and rotating the guide rail (210) in a left and right direction together with the gear bracket (230).

[0035] The guide rail (210) is connected so that the rear end of the bidet nozzle unit (140) can slide in the longitudinal direction, and a rack gear (211) is provided in the longitudinal direction on one side thereof.

[0036] The first forward / reverse motor (220) is fixedly positioned at the rear end of the bidet nozzle unit (140), and a first pinion gear (221) that meshes with the rack gear (211) of the guide rail (210) is positioned on its rotation axis. Accordingly, the bidet nozzle unit (140) can be slid forward or backward by driving in the forward / reverse direction by a signal from the control unit (166; control stick) of the control panel (160).

[0037] The gear bracket (230) is fixedly positioned in the center of the bottom surface of the guide rail (210), and a sector gear (231) of a predetermined angle is formed protruding from the upper part thereof.

[0038] The support bracket (240) is fixedly positioned on the inner side of the central part of the main body (110), and the central part of the gear bracket (230) is connected to the upper surface of the support bracket (240) via an axle (241) to support the gear bracket (230) so that it can rotate left and right together with the guide rail (210). In addition, a gear receiving groove (242) is provided on the upper surface of the support bracket (240) in the shape of an arc at a predetermined angle so that the sector gear (231) of the gear bracket (230) can be received, thereby limiting the left and right rotation angle of the gear bracket (230). This is to prevent the gear bracket (230) from rotating excessively left and right. In an embodiment of the present invention, the gear bracket is configured to rotate left and right within a range of 30 degrees while the sector gear (231) is received in the gear receiving groove (242).

[0039] The second forward / reverse motor (250) is fixedly positioned on the upper part of the support bracket (240), and a second pinion gear (251) that meshes with the sector gear (231) of the gear bracket (230) is provided on its rotation axis. Accordingly, it can be driven in the forward / reverse direction by a signal from the control unit (166; control stick) of the control panel (160) to rotate the guide rail (210) in the left / right direction together with the gear bracket (230).

[0040] Next, the discharge of cleaning water and position adjustment of the bidet nozzle unit (140) according to the operation mode of the control panel (160), and the resulting effects, will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0041] First, when the user sits on the toilet seat (120) and defecates, and then presses the cleaning button (162) of the control unit (160) in that state; the bidet nozzle unit (140) moves forward a certain distance by driving the first forward / reverse motor (220) in the forward direction, and the cleaning water flowing in from the outside is guided to the nozzle (141) side by the distributor (150). Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning water is ejected upward through the nozzle (141) to clean the user's anus and the surrounding area. This cleaning mode operation is performed for a set time, and when the ejection of cleaning water is completed for the set time, the bidet nozzle unit (140) moves backward by driving the first forward / reverse motor (220) in the reverse direction and maintains a standby state.

[0042] In addition, when the bidet nozzle unit (140) advances to perform the cleaning mode (or bidet mode) and the cleaning position is not correct, the user can adjust the cleaning position by moving the bidet nozzle unit (140) forward and backward, as well as rotating it left and right, through the control part (166; adjustment stick) of the control panel (160) according to their physical condition.

[0043] That is, when a forward or backward signal of the bidet nozzle unit (140) is input through the adjustment stick (166) of the control panel (160), the first pinion gear (221) of the first forward / reverse motor (220) is driven in the forward or reverse direction. As a result, the bidet nozzle unit (140) slides further forward or backward along the guide rail (210) (see FIG. 6).

[0044] Additionally, when a signal for left or right rotation of the bidet nozzle unit (140) is input through the adjustment stick (166) of the control panel (160), the second pinion gear (251) of the second forward / reverse motor (250) is driven in the forward or reverse direction. As a result, the guide rail (210) on which the bidet nozzle unit (140) is positioned together with the gear bracket (230) rotates to the left or right (see FIG. 7). In this way, the bidet nozzle unit (140) can rotate in the left and right directions as well as move forward and backward by additional operation by the user, thereby allowing the cleaning mode to be performed according to the user's physical condition.

[0045] The present invention can be widely used in the field of "bide for toilets with adjustable bidet nozzle unit position," which can improve user convenience by adjusting the position of the bidet nozzle unit from which cleaning water is ejected not only forward and backward but also in the left and right directions.

Claims

1. A main body (110) having a toilet seat (120) that is placed on top of a toilet bowl (10) and has an open central portion so that a user can sit and relieve themselves; a bidet nozzle unit (140) positioned to move forward and backward toward the inside of the toilet bowl (10) from the rear lower side of the toilet seat (120) and having a nozzle (141) provided to spray cleaning water from the tip; a control panel (160) positioned on one side of the main body (110) and having a plurality of operating parts (161~166) for controlling the bidet nozzle unit (140); and a mechanism positioned inside the central portion of the main body (110) to adjust the position of the bidet nozzle unit (140) in the forward, backward, left, and right directions by operating the operating part (166) of the control panel (160) while the bidet nozzle unit (140) is advanced toward the inside of the toilet bowl (10). In a bidet for a toilet equipped with a driving device (200); The above driving device (200) is; A guide rail (210) having a rear end of the above-mentioned bidet nozzle unit (140) slidably coupled in the longitudinal direction and a rack gear (211) provided in the longitudinal direction on one side; A first pinion gear (221) is fixedly positioned at the rear end of the bidet nozzle unit (140) and meshes with the rack gear (211) of the guide rail (210), and a first forward / reverse motor (220) is provided on the rotation axis and driven in forward / reverse directions by a signal from the control panel (160) of the control panel (160) to slide the bidet nozzle unit (140) in the forward or backward direction; A gear bracket (230) fixedly positioned at the center of the bottom surface of the guide rail (210) and having a sector gear (231) formed to protrude at a predetermined angle on its upper surface; A support bracket (240) fixedly disposed on the inner side of the central part of the main body (110), wherein the central part of the gear bracket (230) is coupled to the shaft (241) on the upper surface to support the gear bracket (230) so as to be rotatable left and right together with the guide rail (210), and wherein the upper surface is formed in an arc shape at a predetermined angle to accommodate the sector gear (231) of the gear bracket (230) and has a gear receiving groove (242) provided therein to limit the left and right rotation angle of the gear bracket (230); A bidet for a toilet capable of position adjustment of a bidet nozzle unit, characterized by having a second pinion gear (251) that is fixedly positioned on the upper part of the support bracket (240) and meshes with the sector gear (231) of the gear bracket (230), and a second reversible motor (250) that is driven in a forward / reverse direction by a signal from the operating part (166) of the control panel (160) to rotate the guide rail (210) in the left / right direction together with the gear bracket (230).

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