초록 ▼

The present invention is an automated seat and/or lid assembly for a toilet. The invention includes switch automation, wherein movement of a bowl attachment is initiated via a switch, and manual-urging automation, wherein movement of a bowl attachment is initiated via manual urging by a user. An aut

The present invention is an automated seat and/or lid assembly for a toilet. The invention includes switch automation, wherein movement of a bowl attachment is initiated via a switch, and manual-urging automation, wherein movement of a bowl attachment is initiated via manual urging by a user. An automated attachment assembly may be configured to provide both switch and manual-urging automation concomitantly based upon predetermined logic. Furthermore, the invention includes a method of identifying manual movement and of assisting the movement of a bowl attachment. The invention further includes an object sensor incorporated within the seat or lid to detect the presence or absence of an object near the bowl attachment.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An automated attachment assembly for a toilet, comprising: a bowl attachment being pivotable about a hinge axis between an open position and a closed position;a touch sensor mounted to an upper surface of the bowl attachment in a distal location relative to the hinge axis and positioned to be tou

1. An automated attachment assembly for a toilet, comprising: a bowl attachment being pivotable about a hinge axis between an open position and a closed position;a touch sensor mounted to an upper surface of the bowl attachment in a distal location relative to the hinge axis and positioned to be touched by a user and not obscured by other structures of the toilet when the bowl attachment is in the closed position;an actuator activated by the touch sensor to pivot the bowl attachment from the closed position to the open position when the user touches the touch sensor; anda lead coupled to the touch sensor and the bowl attachment, such that the lead moves with the bowl attachment as the bowl attachment is pivoted. 2. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is mounted to a distal end of the bowl attachment relative to the hinge axis. 3. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 2, wherein the distal location of the touch sensor is generally opposite the hinge axis. 4. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is a capacitive touch sensor. 5. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, further comprising a heating element coupled to the bowl attachment. 6. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, further comprising an option selection switch for altering the operation of the automated attachment assembly. 7. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, further comprising an object sensor coupled to the bowl attachment for sensing the presence or absence of an object adjacent the bowl attachment. 8. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 7, wherein the object sensor is of the capacitive type. 9. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 5, further comprising an object sensor operationally coupled to the heating element. 10. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, wherein the actuator pivots the bowl attachment toward the open position or closed position in response to a manual urging by a user to the bowl attachment toward the open position and closed position respectively. 11. The automated attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 1, further comprising a logic controller programmed to control the pivoting of the bowl attachment. 12. The automated attachment assembly of claim 11, wherein the logic controller is programmed to control at least one function selected from the group consisting of toilet flushing, operation of a bowl light, operation of a bowl attachment heater, operation of an object sensor, and operation of bowl attachment automation. 13. An automated cover assembly for a toilet, comprising: a seat and lid assembly pivotally mounted with respect to one another to be moveable into three configurations, a first configuration in which the seat and the lid are each in a lowered position, a second configuration in which the seat and the lid are each in a raised position, and a third configuration in which the seat is in the lowered position and the lid is in the raised position;at least one touch sensor mounted to the lid in a distal location relative to a hinge axis about which the lid rotates, the touch sensor being positioned to be touched by a user and not obscured by other structures of the toilet when the lid is in the lowered position;one or more actuators activated by the at least one touch sensor and coupled to the seat and lid assembly for selectively moving the seat and lid assembly into the first, second, and third configurations when the user touches the touch sensor; anda lead coupled to the touch sensor and the lid, such that the lead moves with the lid as the lid is rotated. 14. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, wherein the at least one touch sensor is mounted on an upper surface of the lid generally opposite the hinge axis. 15. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, further comprising a heating element coupled to at least one of the seat and lid. 16. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 15, wherein the heating element is integral with at least one of the seat and lid. 17. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, further comprising an object sensor coupled to at least one of the seat and the lid for sensing the presence or absence of an object. 18. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 17, wherein the object sensor is of the capacitive type. 19. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 17, further comprising a heating element coupled to the seat and operationally connected to the object sensor. 20. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, wherein the one or more actuators selectively move the seat and lid assembly into the first, second and third configurations in response to a manual urging by a user to one of the seat and the lid. 21. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, wherein the at least one touch sensor comprises a first touch sensor and a second touch sensor, wherein the resulting actuation of the seat and lid is based on predetermined logic dependent on the location and movement of the seat and lid when the first touch sensor or the second touch sensor is touched by the user. 22. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 13, wherein the at least one touch sensor includes a first touch sensor and a second touch sensor, the first touch sensor being configured to be touched by the user to receive user inputs for controlling movement of the lid, and the second touch sensor being configured to be touched by the user to receive user inputs for controlling movement of the seat. 23. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 22, wherein upon receiving a user input through the first touch sensor, the logic controller determines whether to raise or lower the lid according to whether the lid is in the raised position, the lid is in the lowered position, the lid is being raised, or the lid is being lowered. 24. The automated cover assembly for a toilet of claim 23, wherein upon receiving a user input through the second touch sensor, the logic controller determines whether to raise or lower the seat according to whether the seat is in the raised position, the seat is in the lowered position, the seat is being raised, or the seat is being lowered. 25. A power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet, comprising: a bowl attachment being pivotable through a range of movement defined by a first rotational extreme and a second rotational extreme;an actuator operationally coupled to the bowl attachment to pivot the bowl attachment between the first and second rotational extremes; anda logic controller and a movement sensor cooperatively configured to monitor movement of the bowl attachment;wherein the logic controller stores the first and second rotational extremes and, when the bowl attachment reaches the first or second rotational extreme, de-energizes the actuator prior to current supplied to the actuator exceeding an appreciable level. 26. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, further comprising a heating element coupled to the bowl attachment. 27. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, further comprising an object sensor coupled to the bowl attachment for sensing the presence or absence of an object adjacent the bowl attachment. 28. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, further comprising a touch sensor mounted to the bowl attachment operationally connected to the actuator. 29. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, wherein the bowl attachment comprises a seat defining an opening and a lid configured to cover the opening. 30. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, wherein the logic controller is programmed to control at least one function selected from the group consisting of toilet flushing, operation of a bowl light, operation of a bowl attachment heater, operation of an object sensor, and operation of bowl attachment automation. 31. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, wherein the logic controller is configured to determine a second position of the bowl attachment based on the one or more signals received from the movement sensor, is configured to identify a direction of rotation of the bowl attachment from the first position to the second position, and is configured to energize the actuator according to the identified direction of rotation. 32. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 31, wherein the logic controller is configured to energize the actuator to pivot the bowl attachment in the identified direction of rotation. 33. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, wherein the logic controller is configured to de-energize the actuator when the bowl attachment has reached the first rotational extreme. 34. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 33, wherein the logic controller stores the first rotational extreme, and is configured to determine whether the bowl attachment has reached the first rotational extreme according to the determination of the first position of the bowl attachment. 35. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 25, wherein the logic controller is configured to identify and store at least one of the first and second rotational extremes of the bowl attachment according to an initiation sequence. 36. The power assisted attachment assembly for a toilet of claim 35, wherein during the initiation sequence, the actuator moves the bowl attachment to at least one of the first and second rotational extremes, the logic controller monitors electrical current to the actuator, and the logic controller identifies at least one of the first and second rotational extremes according to an increase in current. 37. An automated cover for a toilet, comprising: a seat and lid assembly pivotally mounted with respect to one another to be moveable into three configurations, a first configuration in which the seat and the lid are each in a fully lowered position, a second configuration in which the seat and the lid are each in a fully raised position, and a third configuration in which the seat is in the fully lowered position and the lid is in the fully raised position;one or more actuators coupled to the seat and lid assembly for selectively moving the seat and lid assembly into the first, second and third configurations; anda logic controller and a seat movement sensor cooperatively configured to monitor movement of the seat, the logic controller and a lid movement sensor cooperatively configured to monitor movement of the lid;wherein the logic controller stores the fully raised and fully lowered positions of the seat and the lid and, when the seat or the lid reaches its fully raised or fully lowered position, the logic controller de-energizes the one or more actuators prior to current supplied to the one or more actuators exceeding an appreciable level. 38. The automated cover for a toilet of claim 37, further comprising a heating element coupled to the seat. 39. The automated cover for a toilet of claim 37, further comprising an object sensor coupled to at least one of the seat and the lid for sensing the presence or absence of an object. 40. The automated cover for a toilet of claim 37, further comprising a touch sensor operationally connected to the one or more actuators and mounted to at least one of the seat and the lid. 41. The automated cover of claim 37, wherein the logic controller is configured to determine a second seat position of the seat based on the one or more signals received from the seat movement sensor, is configured to identify a direction of seat rotation of the seat from the first seat position to the second seat position, and is configured to energize the actuator according to the identified direction of seat rotation; and wherein the logic controller is configured to determine a second lid position of the lid based on the one or more signals received from the lid movement sensor, is configured to identify a direction of lid rotation of the lid from the first lid position to the second lid position, and is configured to energize the actuator according to the identified direction of lid rotation. 42. The automated cover of claim 41, wherein the logic controller is configured to energize the actuator to pivot the seat in the identified direction of seat rotation and to pivot the lid in the identified direction of lid rotation. 43. The automated cover of claim 37, wherein the logic controller is configured to de-energize the actuator when the bowl attachment has reached the fully lowered position or the fully raised position. 44. The automated cover of claim 43, wherein the logic controller stores the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the seat, and is configured to determine whether the seat has reached the fully lowered position or the fully raised position according the determination of the first position of the seat; and wherein the logic controller stores the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the lid, and is configured to determine whether the lid has reached the fully lowered position or the fully raised position according the determination of the first position of the lid. 45. The automated cover of claim 37, wherein the logic controller is configured to identify and store the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the seat and lid according to an initiation sequence. 46. The automated cover of claim 45, wherein during the initiation sequence, the actuator moves the seat to the fully lowered and fully raised positions, the logic controller monitors electrical current to the actuator, and the logic controller identifies and stores the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the seat according to an increase in current; and wherein during the initiation sequence, the actuator moves the lid to the fully lowered and fully raised positions, the logic controller monitors electrical current to the actuator, and the logic controller identifies and stores the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the lid according to an increase in current.