Toilet Cover and Seat with Angled-Axis Hinge for Concealed Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toilets face challenges in maintaining cleanliness, especially at hinge locations, and aesthetics due to traditional pivot-based cover and seat mechanisms, which are difficult to clean and obstruct the view.
Innovation Solution
The toilet features a ball-and-socket hinge mechanism allowing the cover and seat to rotate about two axes, pivoting upward and then swiveling backward on an angled axis, hiding the hinge mechanism from view and facilitating easy cleaning, with optional motorized operation for automated movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional pivot-based cover and seat mechanism is used, then the structure is simple, but the hinge locations are difficult to clean and obstruct the view
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism is extracted from the visible exterior and relocated to the interior of the base. The cover and seat are rotatably coupled to the base within the base structure, so that when the cover and seat are in the lowered position, the hinge mechanism is concealed inside the base, eliminating the cleaning problem of exterior hinges while maintaining structural simplicity
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the hinge mechanism is concealed inside the base, then cleanliness is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism is merged with the base structure by integrating it into the interior of the base. The cover and seat are rotatably coupled to the base in such a way that the hinge mechanism becomes part of the base's internal structure, concealing it from view and eliminating dirt accumulation while adding minimal complexity to the base design
3Device complexity
If the cover and seat rotate about a traditional horizontal axis, then the mechanism is simple, but the hinge obstructs the view and is difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation axis is repositioned from a traditional horizontal axis at the exterior to an angled axis within the base structure. The cover and seat define an angled axis that is oriented upward and forward toward a front end of the base, moving the rotation mechanism into the third dimension (inside the base) where it does not obstruct the view or require external cleaning
Data Source
AI summary
A toilet includes a base, a cover, and a seat. The seat is rotatably coupled to the base, and the cover is rotatably coupled to the seat. The cover and the seat define an angled axis that is oriented upward and forward toward a front end of the base. The cover and the seat are each configured to rotate about the angled axis between a lowered position in which the cover and the seat are located adjacent the base and a stowed position in which the cover and the seat are oriented in an upward direction.