A COMPACT CLEANING SET FOR TOILET

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to accessories for a bathroom, in particular a compact cleaning set for a toilet, as well as a toilet seat, or toilet seat lid, with said compact cleaning set integrated in the lid.

A toilet cleaning set usually consists of a toilet brush and a toilet brush holder, the inside of which houses the toilet brush when not in use.

Said cleaning set is an indispensable accessory for a toilet.

This tool is normally present at the side of a toilet and is usually visible.

In order to make the presence of said essential accessory more pleasant, various solutions have been developed, such as a sleek design or a concealed housing embedded in a wall next to the toilet.

The main drawback, which is common to these solutions, is the not infrequent potential wetting of the floor between the toilet and the toilet brush holder due to drops of water falling from the toilet brush, which has not yet fully drained, when the toilet brush is moved, especially when it is returned to its place in the toilet brush holder.

Often, in addition to the floor, these drops also fall on the seat ring, making it necessary to promptly dry the toilet in order to make it once again usable by others.

A wet floor is, first and foremost, a possible source of risk as a result of the floor being made slippery by the drops of water that fell on it, and leading to an accident that can cause a traumatic injury, e.g. following a fall.

Moreover, the water could be dirty and thus be a potential incubator of germs if it is not promptly removed, and thus cause health problems for a user of this toilet.

Finally, these drops of water can give rise to a sense of neglect and poor hygiene of the environment and, therefore, instil discomfort in those using the toilet.

In order to prevent these drawbacks, it would be necessary to quickly dry the drops that have fallen on the floor, but this is not always done promptly.

Current solutions that resort to design do not solve said problem of wetting of the floor and have the added disadvantage of leaving the accessory in view.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toilet cleaning set that is space saving.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an accessory that is easy to clean. These and other objects are achieved by a compact toilet cleaning set, as well as by a toilet seat comprising this toilet cleaning set.

Usually, a toilet comprises a bowl bordered by an upper rim on which a ring-shaped seat rests. The latter is hinged to a movable lid suitable to close said bowl. When the lid is in a horizontal position, one face thereof faces the bowl. This face of the lid is referred to herein as the inner face, and reference is made to this face of the lid in the present invention.

The compact toilet cleaning set according to the present invention comprises:

- a toilet brush holder, and

- a toilet brush, wherein said toilet brush holder defines a compartment with an opening and comprises at least a lower part, a flip-open cover and attachment means, suitable for attaching the toilet brush holder to a toilet seat lid.

The flip-open cover comprises an upper portion, a front portion and a tipping element, wherein: the upper portion is hinged along a first edge (or lower edge) thereof to the front portion, the front portion is hinged along a first edge (or upper edge) thereof to the upper portion and along a second edge (or lower edge) thereof to the lower part (or base), this second edge being opposite said upper edge, and the tipping element is integral with the lower edge of the front portion, this element protrudes into the toilet brush holder compartment and abuts against the toilet brush.

The flip-open cover thus comprises three sections, referred to herein for convenience as front portion, top portion and tipping element. This element is attached to said front portion and allows the front portion of the cover to remain in the closed position once the toilet brush is in the toilet brush holder. The two front and upper portions close the opening of the toilet brush holder.

The cover, which as said is a flip-open cover, more precisely a double flip-open cover, has the front portion hinged, on one side, at or on the lower part along an axis Xi and, on the opposite side, to the upper portion along an axis X2.

The toilet brush holder takes on an open or closed configuration according to whether the flip-open cover is open or closed, respectively.

The upper portion has an upper edge, opposite the lower edge. The upper edge, in the closed configuration of the toilet brush holder, rests on the rear or upper portion of the toilet brush holder.

In the context of the present invention, the relative terms "lower", "upper", "front", "rear", "front", "top", "vertical" and "horizontal" refer to the set in the position of use, i.e., oriented substantially vertical or perpendicular to the ground.

The toilet brush holder defines a space or compartment suitable for housing the toilet brush. The latter comprises a brush head, a handle, e.g. telescopic or folding, and a gripping portion.

The toilet brush holder also comprises a rear part, on which the attachment means are applied, and side parts.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, at least one of said rear, lower and side parts is solid, i.e., it is a wall, or, alternatively, said parts are elements which together form a frame on which at least the flip-open cover and the attachment means are mounted, for example.

In one embodiment, the toilet brush holder is a closable six-sided container, the cross-section of which is a quadrilateral, preferably, but not necessarily, with a scalene or isosceles trapezoid shape.

According to the embodiment, the attachment means are present either on the frame, precisely on that portion of the frame opposite the front portion of the flip-open cover, or on the rear wall of the toilet brush holder. These means allow the toilet seat holder to be attached to the lid of the toilet seat, precisely to its inner face. The attachment means can be mechanical, such as screws or the like, or magnetic, such as a magnetic plate. Said attachment means can additionally or alternatively comprise adhesive means.

As mentioned above, the tipping element extends from the lower edge of the front portion of the flip-open cover. This element is attached, for example, centrally with respect to this edge. Said element is housed, in general, entirely inside the toilet brush holder compartment.

The tipping element is attached on one side to the lower edge of the front portion, or close to it, so as to form a fixed angle with this part. The angle between said two parts is, indicatively, between 80° and 105°. Typically, this angle is approximately 90°. According to a variant of the invention, the tipping element is shaped like a cradle, i.e. it defines a housing suitable to receive the brush head of the toilet brush.

According to the embodiments, the toilet brush holder preferably has limit stop elements, which are meant as a stop and/or a counter-stop element, as the case may be, or retaining means, or both. These elements and means have the function of limiting a movement, which can be opening or closing as the case may be, of the cover or a part thereof. In particular, these elements and means allow that part to be blocked in the desired position. For example, the front portion, when open, is, preferably, blocked in the generic ally horizontal position.

The upper portion in the absence of one of these elements and means can rotate freely on its axis once the flip-open cover is open. Conversely, with the aid of one of said elements and means, the upper portion can be blocked in a predetermined position, e.g. transversely, in particular generically horizontally, when the flip-open cover is opened, or in any case substantially aligned with the front portion.

This configuration allows the upper part to be placed, in the open position, over the edge of the toilet ring in order to cover it and protect it from drops falling when the toilet brush is replaced inside the toilet brush holder.

In a variant of embodiment, this tipping element can also serve as a limit stop element, if it has a suitable shape, e.g. a T-shaped tab, i.e., a tab with at least two transverse arms in line with each other.

In this last variant, said element only moves inside the toilet brush holder compartment due to said transverse arms that abut against counter-stop elements placed on the frame or on the side walls, so that the opening movement of the flip-open cover, specifically of its front portion, is blocked.

In one embodiment, a same counter-stop element can act as a limit stop for both the opening and closing movements, of the front and upper portions of the flip-open cover, respectively.

In this embodiment, the toilet brush holder has said pair of counter-stop elements, each of them lateral to the front portion of the flip-open cover. These elements are of a height equal to the height of the front portion of the flip-open cover.

The upper portion of the cover abuts against said counter- stop elements, which stop the folding movement when closing this part.

According to another variant of the invention, blocking of the front portion of the flip- open cover in the open, i.e. substantially horizontal, position can occur by interference between the front portion itself and the frame of the toilet brush holder, for example when the outer face of the former abuts against the base of the latter.

The toilet brush holder also preferably comprises blocking means of the toilet brush. Said means protrude inside the inner compartment of the toilet brush holder and are attached by one of their ends to the toilet brush holder, for example, to one of the two side parts or, preferably, to its rear part. These means are sufficiently long to intersect the handle of the toilet brush. Typically, these means extend towards the inside of the compartment, towards the opening, for at least a length equal to half the distance between the rear wall and the front portion of the flip-open cover, in the closed position.

These means connect, e.g. by interlocking or similar methods, with the handle of the toilet brush holder.

The first function of said means is to support and retain the toilet brush by the handle once it is placed in the toilet brush holder.

Said means also serve the function of helping to extend or unfold the toilet brush handle if the latter is telescopic or foldable, as explained in more detail below.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the toilet brush holder has at least one rear wall, opposite the front portion of the flip-open cover, two side walls, transverse to the front portion of the flip-open cover, and a bottom part, opposite the top portion of the cover.

The side and rear walls are, indicatively, flat.

In a preferred embodiment, the upper portion of the flip-open cover has a passage in a position, indicatively, at least approximately central, i.e., along the centreline axis Y of the cross-section of the upper portion of the flip-open cover. This passage is, for example, in the form of a U-shaped recess of the upper edge of the upper portion. This passage allows the toilet brush handle to protrude from the toilet brush holder if, for example, the toilet brush is not fully housed in the toilet brush holder. According to a variant of the invention, the toilet brush handle is telescopic and comprises two or more sections mounted sliding in relation to one another in a telescopic or equivalent manner, i.e., allowing the handle to be retracted and extended.

According to another variant of the invention, the toilet brush handle is of the folding type and comprises at least two sections hinged to each other. According to this last variant, the hinge joining the two sections can be equipped with blocking means of these sections in the extended and optionally folded position.

The toilet brush holder also preferably comprises at least one drain hole. A first drain hole can be present on the lower part or base of the toilet brush holder, preferably this drain hole is close to the rear wall and in a central position with respect to the width of the lower part.

The toilet brush holder can comprise, additionally or alternatively to said at least one drain hole, at least one drain hole on the front portion of the flip-open cover.

Said first drain hole is, preferably, connected to a drainage tube, in particular the first end of said tube is mounted on the drain hole and the second end flows into the toilet bowl in order to drain the water coming out of the base of the toilet brush holder. The size of the cleaning set allows it to fit into the toilet bowl.

As mentioned above, a further object of the present invention is a toilet seat comprising this cleaning set mounted on the inner face of the lid. In particular, the set is mounted in a position such that when the lid is in vertical position, the toilet brush holder has its rear part facing the inner face of the lid and its bottom part facing the toilet, more specifically the toilet bowl.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the description of an example embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying figures, wherein:

- Figure 1 is a schematic side representation of a toilet with the seat lid, in the closed position, with a toilet cleaning set integrated into it, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

- Figure 2 is a schematic side representation of the toilet of Figure 1, with the lid in the open position;

- Figure 3 is a representation of a front perspective view of an open toilet brush holder, according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 4 is a representation of a side view of a closed toilet brush holder with a toilet brush in place, according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 5 is a representation of a side view of a closed toilet brush holder during a step of the operations of removing the toilet brush from the toilet brush holder, according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 6 is a representation of a side view of an open toilet brush holder without the brush according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 7 is a representation of a side view of an open toilet brush holder during a step of the operations of inserting the toilet brush into the toilet brush holder, according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1 ;

- Figure 8 is a representation of a side view of an open toilet brush holder during a further step of the operations of inserting the toilet brush into the toilet brush holder, according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 9 is a representation of a perspective view of the toilet brush holder according to another embodiment of the invention;

- Figures 10a and 10b are representations of two perspective views of the flip-open cover according to another embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 11 is a representation of a side view of a closed toilet brush holder with a toilet brush in place, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

- Figures 12a and 12b are representations of side views of a detail of the toilet brush handle according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 11.

With reference to the accompanying figures 1 and 2, the number 100 denotes as a whole a toilet, comprising an actual toilet 110 having a seat with a lid 102 hinged to a seat ring 101 resting on a bowl 40 and a compact cleaning set 1 integrated into the toilet 110.

In Figure 1, the lid 102 is in a horizontal, hence closed, position, i.e., the lid 102 is resting on the seat ring 101. The lid 102 has a face 102a on which a toilet brush holder 10 is mounted.

In Figure 2, the lid 102 is in a vertical, hence open, position and toilet brush holder 10 is also in a vertical position.

As mentioned above, the cleaning set 1 has a size such that it can fit into the bowl 40 of the toilet 110 and into the hole presented in the seat ring 101. For this purpose, as represented in Figure 5, the toilet brush 30 comprises, in addition to a brush head 35 and a gripping portion 31, intended to be held in the hand and to allow its manipulation, also a telescopic handle 32, specifically formed of three sections 32a, 32b, 32c.

In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the toilet brush holder 10 is a container whose internal volume is a compartment V suitable to accommodate a part of the toilet brush 30. This container has an irregular shape, the cross-section of which is in the shape of a scalene trapezoid.

The toilet brush holder 10 has a base 17 as its lower part, a back wall 13 (having an upper edge 13b and a lower edge 13a), two side walls 11, 12, and a flip-open cover 14. The rear wall 13, side walls 11, 12, base 17 and cover 14 are substantially flat.

As shown in Figure 3, each side wall 11, 12 is connected to base 17 along the bottom edge and to the wall 13 along the rear edge.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the cover 14 has an upper portion 14b, with an upper edge 14b' and a lower edge 14b', a front portion 14a, with a lower edge 14a' and an upper edge 14a", and a tipping tab 16. In the example illustrated in Figures 1 to 8, said tipping tab is T-shaped.

The front portion 14a is hinged, on one side, to the upper portion 14b along the mutual edges and, on the opposite side, is both integral with the tipping tab 16 and hinged to the base 17.

As a result of the fact that the toilet brush holder 10 has a scalene trapezoid- shaped cross-section, the front portion 14a of the lid 14 has a width smaller than that of the rear wall 13 and the base 17 has a length shorter than that of the upper portion 14b.

The side walls 11, 12 each have a front edge 1 lc, 12c, which have limit stop elements 11a, 12a. In accordance with the variant illustrated in Figure 3, each of said limit stop elements 11a, 12a extends along the entire height of the wall 11, 12 and ends with a rounded upper edge. In this way, said limit stop elements 11a, 12a act as a limit stop for both the tipping tab 16 and the upper part 14b of the cover 14 during closing, preventing, for example, it from folding back into the compartment V inside the toilet brush holder 10.

Said limit stop elements 11a, 12a coact with each other to laterally delimit a door 50. This door 50 has a width, indicatively of approximately 10-15 cm, such as to allow the toilet brush 30, in particular the brush head 35 of the toilet brush, to pass easily through it during the operations of extracting the toilet brush from the toilet brush holder and vice versa, i.e., of inserting the toilet brush into the toilet brush holder.

The front portion 14a and the base 17 are hinged to each other along the axis Xi. The front portion 14a and the upper portion 14b are hinged to each other along the axis X2 along their respective edges, i.e., the upper edge 14a' and the lower edge 14b'.

The tipping tab 16 is housed entirely inside the toilet brush holder, above the base 17 when the toilet brush holder has the cover 14 closed.

In the embodiment depicted, the tipping tab 16 has two arms 16', 16", which intersect each other perpendicularly in the shape of a T, i.e. so that that one 16" of the two arms does not exceed the other 16' and divides it into two parts of equal length.

The arm 16" has one end mounted integral with the lower edge 14a' of the front portion 14a, precisely on the central portion of this edge 14a'.

In the embodiment illustrated, the two arms have different lengths, the arm 16", which is much shorter than the arm 16', has the function of connecting the latter to the front portion 14a of the lid 14. The arm 16" is attached to the lower edge 14a' of said front portion 14a centrally thereto.

The arm 16' has a length shorter than the length of the base 17, but longer than the door 50, so that it abuts against the stops 1 la, 12a. In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying figures, the upper edge 14b" of the upper portion 14b has a passage 23 in the form of a U-shaped recess. Said recess 23 is centrally located on the transverse axis of symmetry Y of the upper portion 14b. Said recess 23 allows the handle 32 to pass through, so that the gripping portion 31 remains outside the toilet brush holder 10. Attachment means 19 are provided on the rear wall 13 for attaching the toilet brush holder to the inner face 102a of the lid 102 of the toilet seat. Said attachment means 19 can, for example, be holes for the passage of screws.

The toilet brush holder 10 also comprises a drain hole 18, located on the base 17, in a central position with respect to the width of the lower part and near the lower edge 13a of the rear wall 13.

As illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 4-8, a drainage tube 18b is connected by a first end thereof to the drain hole 18, passes between the lid 102 and the ring-shaped seat 101 towards the bowl 40 of the toilet 110 and flows into the toilet bowl 40 with the second end thereof, into which the drain water from the toilet brush 10 flows. As illustrated in Figures 3-8, the rear wall is provided with a blocking stop 20 protruding into the compartment V. Said blocking stop 20 is attached to the rear wall 13, in a central position with respect to the width of the wall 13 and is near the upper edge 13b of this wall 13.

According to a variant, not illustrated, the front portion 14b can be inclined with respect to the rear wall 13 so that the upper edge 14a” of the front portion 14a is closer to the rear part 13 than the lower edge 14a' of the front portion 14a. The front portion 14a can therefore have an inclination towards the rear part that is, indicatively, between 2° and 10°. This inclination facilitates the outflow of water towards the lower part, and optionally the drain hole 18 or holes, particularly when the seat lid is in horizontal position. The toilet brush holder 10 can, in addition, be provided with retaining means (not represented in the figures) which coact to hold the upper part 14b of the cover 14 in a closed position against the rear wall 13. These means can, for example, be of magnetic type.

The cleaning set 1 according to the present invention can be made of a plastic material.

Figures 5, 7 and 8 illustrate some steps of the operations of removing the toilet brush 30 from and inserting it into toilet brush holder 10.

In detail, Figure 5 shows the configuration of the cleaning set 1 after the toilet brush 30, held by the gripping portion 31, has been pulled upwards, as indicated by the arrow A. The upward movement of the brush head 35 is interrupted by the blocking stop 20, which, by blocking the movement of the brush head 35, helps to extend the telescopic handle 32, causing extraction of the sections 32b and 32c. As a result of the lifting action, the cover 14 is no longer held in the closed position by the weight of the toilet brush 30 on the tipping tab 16, and, therefore, the cover 14 is free to rotate and open.

Figure 6 shows the toilet brush holder 10 open, with the cover 14 in the fully open position, i.e. until the arm 16' of the tipping tab 16 is abutting against the stops 11a, 12a of the side walls 11, 12. From the position of Figure 5, the toilet brush 30 can be extracted from the toilet brush holder by applying a pulling force in the direction of the arrow B.

Figure 7 shows a step of the operation of inserting the toilet brush 30 into the open toilet brush holder 10. In this step, the brush head 35 of the toilet brush 30 is placed against the tipping tab 16. A pushing force applied in the direction of the arrow C represented in Figure 7 allows a rotating and lifting movement (in the direction of the arrow D) of the cover 14 in order to bring the cover 14 into the closed position.

Figure 8 shows a further step of the operation of inserting the toilet brush 30 into the toilet brush holder 10. In this step, the toilet brush 30 is positioned in the toilet brush holder 10 and the upper part 14b can have been previously blocked in the closed position by retaining means (not illustrated in the figures). This step involves retracting the sections 32b, 32c into the section 32a of the handle by means of a movement of the former, as indicated by the arrow E. Figure 9 shows the frame of the toilet brush holder 10 according to another variant of the invention. According to this variant, the frame comprises inner counter side walls 111, 112 defining the compartment in which the tipping element 16 of the front portion 14a of the flip-open cover 14 is housed and moves.

According to this variant, the front portion 14a of the cover 14 can be hinged directly on the counter side walls 111, 112.

Figures 10a and 10b show the front portion 14a of the cover 14 in which the tipping element 16 has a cradle shape that can at least partially surround the brush head 35 of the toilet brush 30, when the latter is placed in the toilet brush holder 10.

According to this variant, the front portion 14a further comprises fins 114 extending transversely from the front portion towards the inside of the toilet brush holder. Said fins 114 can serve as a guide for positioning the toilet brush in the cradle-shaped tipping element.

Furthermore, according to one embodiment, said fins 114 can coact with said counter side walls 111, 112 to allow rotation of said front portion 14a. For example, said fins 114 and said counter side walls 111, 112 can be provided with hinge means such as pins and respective seats, or equivalent means, to allow relative rotation between said parts.

Figure 11 represents the toilet set 1 according to another embodiment of the invention.

According to this variant, the toilet brush 30 comprises a folding handle 32.

In more detail, the handle 32 comprises at least a first section 32a and a second section 32b joined by a hinge 34. The first section 32a extends between the brush head 35 and the hinge 34, while the second section 32b extends between the hinge 34 and the handle 31.

The hinge 34 allows the second section 32b to rotate between a folded position, in which it is substantially against the front portion 14a of the lid 14, and an extended position, in which it is substantially aligned with the first section 32a (shown with a dotted line in Figure 11).

According to one embodiment, a lever 37, which protrudes transversely with respect to the axis of the handle 32, is integral in rotation with the second section 32b. This lever 37, during the rotation of the second section 32b, abuts against the lower face 102a of the lid 102 of the toilet seat and, as a result of this rotation, pushes the first section of the handle 32 towards the front part of the toilet brush holder 10 disengaging it from the blocking means 20.

Figures 12a and 12b show in detail the hinge 34 according to a possible embodiment.

The hinge comprises two mutually rotating parts 34a, 34b connected to the first section 32a and the second section 32b of the handle 32, respectively.

The two parts 34a, 34b are supported at their respective faces 34' and are held together by an elastic element 36.

According to a preferred variant, protruding elements and recesses 34", suitable to couple complementarily in at least one angular position of the two sections of the handle 32, for example in the extended position, are produced on the faces 34’. In practice, said protruding elements and recesses 34", when coupled, determine a semi-stable blocking position of the two sections 34a, 34b of the handle which allows the toilet brush 30 to be used for toilet cleaning operations.

Referring again to the accompanying Figures 1 and 2, the toilet brush holder 10 is mounted so that the back wall 13 faces the inner face 102a of the lid 102 and the base 17 faces the bowl 40 of the toilet 110, when the lid 102 is in vertical position.

The invention has been described for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, according to some preferred embodiments. The person skilled in the art may find numerous other embodiments and variations, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the appended claims.