US3513487A - Douching attachment - Google Patents

Description

May 26, 1970 s. PALERMO ET AL 3,513,487

DOUCHING ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 1968 Sanza Pa/erma er A l/"7221a;

United States Patent 3,513,487 DOUCHING ATTACHMENT Santo Palermo, 2716 Poplar Ave., Tampa, Fla. 33602,

and Rogelio Moreno, Miami, Fla.; said Moreno assignor to said Palermo Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 696,236 Int. Cl. E03d 9/08 US. C]. 47 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A douching attachment for a normal toilet which may be vertically displaced and horizontally rotated so as to remove it from the toilet bowl when not in use.

This invention relates to a douche and more particularly to a douching instrument which may be attached to a toilet bowl and may be easily lifted up, and swung out of the bowl when not in use.

Devices of this nature, while they are widely used throughout Latin American countries and Europe, have never achieved widespread use within the United States. This lack of acceptance is probably partly due to the unsightliness of most such devices and probably to the problem of simple storage when not in use. Remedial attempts have been made, such as by pivotally moving the instrument, to one side of the bowl as shown in US. Pat. 856,468, or to a position beneath the toilet seat as shown in US. Pat. 1,988,078. Unfortunately, neither of these removes the spray head to a position where it is unlikely to be contaminated by body wastes. And while the second design does place the device in an unobstrusive position, the precise movement required makes involved positioning somewhat complicated. The mechanism involved also increases costs of manufacture of the device. It should be further noted that toilet bowls of recent vintage tend to have a smaller gap between the bowl and the seat thereby appreciably increasing the magnitude of the problem.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a douching attachment for an ordinary toilet which can be positioned so as not to impede the normal usage of said toilet.

Another object is to provide an attachment, of the above character, which may be positioned when not in use so as to minimize the possibility of contamination by body wastes.

Still another object is to provide a device, of the above character, which does not present an unsightly appearance.

A further object is to provide a device, of the above character, which can be easily installed.

A still further object is to provide a device, of the above character, which can be easily mass produced at little cost.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

A new device has now been found which, though simple in design and construction, is convenient to use, unobstrusive, and is easily positioned free of the bowl so as not to be contaminated.

The invention in its most rudimentary form comprises a mounting bracket provided with a horizontal pivot arm and a substantially S shaped swing tube terminated by a spray head wherein said tube is vertically slideable through a bushing in the swing end of said pivot arm.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement 3,513,487 Patented May 26, 1970 ice of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of the douching attachment of the invention attached to a normal toilet.

FIG. 2 is a front detail view of the pivot arm and slide bushing.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

As seen in FIG. 1, the device of this invention comprises a mounting bracket 10, bent at its far ends and having mounting bolt holes 12 in the elevated portion thereof. The holes 12 are spaced and of proper diameter so as to align with and about the toilet seat bolts 14 of a normal toilet. Bolts 14 may therefore serve the additional function of attaching bracket 10 to the toilet. End 15 of bracket 10 is provided with two holes so as to allow the passage of hot and cold water pipes 16 and 18 and to provide a means of attaching faucets 20. The opposite end 21 of bracket 10 is provided with one hole through which arm 22 is pivotally pinned.

Faucets 20 empty through a Y-type piping junction 24 into a single flexible tube 26. Tube 26 passes underneath the rear portion of toilet bowl 28 and connects with the lower end of a substantially S-shaped swing tube 30 by means of a connection 32. The swing tube 30 is freely slideable in the vertical direction through bushing 34 in horizontal pivot arm 22. Swing tube 30 has a vertical portion of suitable length passing through bushing 34, a horizontal portion of approximately equal length, a vertical downward portion of somewhat lesser length and then finally a horizontal portion. It is terminated by an upward facing spray head 36.

When not in use, the device is positioned outside the bowl 28 by simply sliding tube 30 vertically upward through bushing 34 to a position above toilet seat 38 and then rotating tube 30 laterally. The tube is then lowered into its horizontal rest position determined by the tube coming into contact with bushing 34. In this position, the spray head 36 is positioned outside and next to toilet bowl 28. If desired, tube 30 and spray head 36 may be pivoted horizontally to a position beneath water tank 40 whereby the tube and spray head are removed from view and positioned where they are not likely to becontaminated or interfere with normal usage of the toilet.

To use the device of this invention, the above procedure is reversed. Spray head 36 is then located within the bowl 28. It should be obvious that the exact positioning of spray head 36 within bowl 28 may be accomplished by mere rotating of tube 30 and/or pivoting of arm 22.

With this simple construction just described, a douching instrument has now been provided which can be easily manufactured, easily installed on a normal toilet, and does not interfere with the normal usage of the toilet. This device is not likely to be contaminated by body wastes since it normally resides outside the bowl until after such wastes are passed. Indeed, it may even be positioned to the rear of the bowl and to a large degree out of sight.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efiiciently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Now that the invention has been described, what is claimed is:

1. A douching attachment for a toilet comprising a mounting bracket, a horizontal pivot arm pivotally pinned to one end of said bracket, and provided with a bushing at the far end thereof, a swing tube pivotably and vertically slidably mounted in said bushing, an upwardly directed spray head afiixed to the end of said tube capable of pivoting into said toilet, and liquid supply means aflixed to the other end of said tube.

2. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said swing tube is connected to said liquid supply by means of a flexible tube positioned below and to the rear of said toilet.

3. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said bracket and said swing tube are positioned to be swung beneath the water tank of said toilet when not in use.

4. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said mounting bracket contains bolt holes appropriately spaced for mounting upon the toilet seat bolts of said toilet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,521,892 1/1925 Koppin 47 1,885,008 4/1932 Callejo 47 1,901,160 3/1933 Guidetti et a1. 4--7 1,935,201 11/1933 Callejo 47 2,104,271 1/ 1938 Parisini 4-7 2,605,477 8/ 1952 Monserrat 4-7 2,826,761 3/1958 Lazarus et al 4-7 2,852,782 9/ 1958 Sundberg 47 3,425,066 2/1969 Berger 4-7 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner

Images