ANTI-SPLASH DEVICE FOR URINALS

Abstract

An anti-splash device for urinals, including a porous member adapted to be detachably attached to an inner surface of a urinal is disclosed. The porous member holds a composition including an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance. A visual indication of the need of replacement is given by the composition when the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance is getting used-up.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure refers to an anti-splash device for urinals, said anti-splash device including a porous member adapted to be detachably attached to an inner surface of a urinary bowl and is intended to reduce splashing of urine. The porous member holds a composition including an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance to freshen and sanitize the urinary bowl.

BACKGROUND

An often occurring problem in men's rooms is bad smell originating primarily in urinals. The odour of urine varies depending on concentration and variety of chemicals excreted by kidneys, which in turn depends on food intake and possible diseases. The odour is also influenced by microbial and enzymatic activities. The bad smell may, for instance, be generated by bacterial activity breaking down urea to ammonia. Also, the bad smell is caused by splashing of urine, occurring when a stream of urine hits the inner surface of the urinal. Due to the impact force, urine is dispersed into fine drops that travel a relatively long distance from the urinal, landing on the walls and the floor of the bathroom, as well as on the individual urinating. These drops are thus not removed upon flushing, but remain on the surfaces in proximity of the urinal, generating bad smell.

Studies show that men try to hit a target, if there is one, when urinating. It is known to provide such a target, and at the same time minimize splash of urine during urination in a urinal by arranging different kinds of anti-splash devices at the inner surface of the urinary bowl. Such devices are known in the art and include a porous structure adapted to disperse a stream of liquid incident on the structure. It is also known to arrange an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance in the anti-splash device.

US 2005/0144711 discloses an anti-splash guard and deodorant pouch adapted for a lavatory device. The anti-splash guard may include a fibrous material. The deodorant pouch may include a deodorant material sandwiched between layers of anti-splash material, such as the fibrous material that is used in the anti-splash guard.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,119 discloses an anti-splash guard made of a decomposable plastic material containing an additive decomposing by microorganisms and sunlight characteristic. After the receptacle is used, the additive is naturally decomposed in a short time by activity of microorganisms and irradiation of sunlight, the plastic material collapses into a granular resin, and the receptacle loses its original form, thus indicating the need for replacement.

US 2007/0186337 discloses a non-splash urinal strainer with a perforated base pad and a deodorant canister fixed to the base pad. Deodorant material is contained within a space provided between the continuous outside wall and the funnel shaped conduit.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,648 discloses a disposable, deodorant and splash proof urine dispersing device made of scented plastic material.

GB 2472377 discloses a liquid dispersion apparatus including a mat that has a surface arranged to carry information such as printed advertisements or health information, which may fade over time after repeated contact with urine to reveal another layer carrying different information. The mat may carry an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking compound, a fragrance or a detergent and it has a surface pattern arranged to disperse the urine as it hits the surface of the mat.

In order for an anti-splash device including an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking compound to maintain its deodorizing and freshening function, the anti-splash device needs to be replaced on a regular basis, since the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking compound is deactivated with time or is washed away upon repeated contact with urine. It may be difficult to know when replacement is needed just by trying to perceive the scent of the bathroom air, which may result in the replacement carried out too early or too late.

SUMMARY

According to the present disclosure, an anti-splash device for urinals is provided. The anti-splash device includes a porous member adapted to be detachably attached to an inner surface of a urinal. In certain embodiments, the anti-splash device is positioned at a location where a stream of urine is likely to hit the inner surface of the urinal, such as at the lower portion of the inner side wall being furthest away from the user, or at the outlet. The porous member is arranged to hold a composition including an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance. By “odour inhibiting” is meant a substance that removes the cause of the odour and/or the odour. By “odour masking” is meant a substance having a strong scent that prevails over the odour. The composition provides a visual indication of when the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance is getting used-up. This effect may be achieved either by providing a composition capable of changing its colour when the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance is getting used-up, or by providing a composition that is gradually washed away by urine and/or water to expose an underlying surface of the porous member, which may have a contrasting colour to the colour of said composition in order to provide the desired visual indication.

When the composition provides a visual indication by means of a colour change, any component of the composition may have the ability to change its colour. Thus, the composition may include the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance that per se changes colour. It is also possible that the composition includes a colorant able to change colour. It is sufficient that one of the components of the composition may change its colour, but it is also conceivable that several of the components of the composition have the ability to change its colour.

At least one of the components of the composition of the present disclosure may have an acidic pH (<7) when the anti-splash device is new. Upon repeated contact with urine and/or flushing water, and particularly with ammonia contained in the urine, the pH will increase. The composition may be adapted to change its colour when the pH rises above a pre-determined threshold. In certain embodiments, the colour change is distinct from one colour to its complementary counterpart, for instance from purple to green, from orange to blue, or from yellow to violet. When the colour change is observed, the user or the maintenance service replaces the anti-splash device.

The acidic composition inhibits growth of bacteria, and thus reduces odours generated due to bacterial activity, in particular the release of ammonia from the breakdown of urea. Further, by the action of the acidic composition, the ammonia is conveniently neutralized by formation of an odourless ammonium salt.

Any component of the composition may also have an alkaline pH (>7). Upon repeated contact with urine and/or flushing water, and particularly with acidic odorous substances contained in the urine, the pH will decrease. The composition may be adapted to change its colour when the pH drops below a pre-determined threshold. In particular embodiments, the colour change is distinct from one colour to its complementary counterpart, for instance from green to purple, from blue to orange, or from violet to yellow. When the colour change is observed, the user or the maintenance service replaces the anti-splash device.

An alkaline composition can neutralize acidic odorous substances in urine, such as isovaleric acid and acetic acid. Also, the alkaline composition prevents growth of microorganisms, thus eliminating odours originating from microbial activity.

As mentioned above, the visual indication may be achieved by the composition including the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance being gradually decoloured or washed away by urine and/or flushing water to expose an underlying surface of the porous member. In particular embodiments, the colour of the composition is different from the colour of the porous member such that the user or the maintenance service easily notices the difference when the composition is getting used-up. The colour of the composition and the colour of the porous member may be complementary to each other, such as purple/green, orange/blue, yellow/violet.

The odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance per se may have a colour different from the colour of said porous member. Further, the composition may include a colorant that is washed away by urine and/or water at the same rate as the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance. In this case, the dissipation rate for the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance and the colorant may be controlled by a binder. It is, of course, highly important that the colorant and the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance are washed away at the same rate in order to avoid deceptive indications by the colorant, leading to the replacement of the anti-splash device being carried out too early or too late.

The odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance may be chosen from the following group of substances: antimicrobial substances (e.g. chlorhexidine, quaternary ammonium compounds, chelating agents, parabens, chitosan, hydrogen peroxide, botanical additives, acids, such as adipic acid, ascorbic acid, benzoic acid, boric acid, citric acid or lactic acid; metal salts), odour adsorbent substances (e.g. activated carbon, zeolites, clays, cyclodextrin, polysaccharides, silica), scents (masking or counteracting scents such as vanilla, citrus, mint, lavender), enzyme inhibiting substances, pH neutralizing substances (acids, bases), surfactants.

The composition may be a system including a coloured surfactant which is gradually decoloured or washed away by urine and/or water. The surfactant helps to prevent splashing by reducing the surface tension of drops. Further, the odour inhibiting function of the surfactant is achieved by a cleaning action, and also, in cases when a cationic or an anionic surfactant is used, antibacterial action. Even in this case, the deodorizing and freshening function of the anti-splash device may be improved by addition of an odour-masking substance mentioned above. Alternatively, the composition may include a surfactant and a colorant, wherein both the surfactant and the colorant are washed away at the same rate.

The composition may include a salt which is gradually dissolved and washed away by urine and/or water. The salt inhibits growth of bacteria, and has thus an odour inhibiting effect. The salt suitable for use in the present invention should preferably have a relatively low solubility in water in order to provide a certain durability of the odour inhibiting function of the anti-splash device. The salt may for instance be a metal salt such as sodium chloride, a silver salt or a copper salt. The salt may also be a mineral salt, or an ammonium salt. The salt may be blended with other materials in order to achieve the desired solubility. When the salt is gradually dissolved and washed away by urine, the colour of the porous member of the anti-splash device material would come through, indicating that the device should be changed. Alternatively, the composition may a salt and a colorant, wherein both the salt and the colorant are washed away at the same rate.

The composition held by the anti-splash device can be positioned at the central part of the anti-splash device and has a strong colour in order to attract the user's attention. The user would thus be guided to direct the stream of urine towards the anti-splash device. The composition may of course be positioned across the entire surface of the anti-splash device. Further, the composition may form an aesthetically pleasing, entertaining or informative pattern.

The anti-splash device may be manufactured from various kinds of material, such as plastic, steel, synthetic or natural fibres, foams and the like. The anti-splash device may be a porous structure in its entirety, or comprise a porous member. The porous member is adapted to absorb the force of bodily waste fluid being projected into the interior region of the urinal, and then release the fluid in a controlled manner. The porous member may be chosen from cellular structures, fibrous structures or nets.

The geometrical shape of the anti-splash device may vary. Thus, the anti-splash device may be circular, rectangular, oval, triangular, diamond, pentagonal, hexagonal, and the like.

The size of the anti-splash device may be adapted to the size of the urinal. Thus, the length of the anti-splash device may be between 5-15 cm, or between 8-12 cm. Further, the width of the anti-splash device may be between 5-15 cm, or between 8-12 cm. Moreover, the thickness of the anti-splash device may be between 0.5-3 cm, or between 1-2 cm.

In embodiments where the anti-splash device includes fibrous strands, the strands are arranged, positioned, or joined together so as to define a porous mesh or lattice configuration. In one embodiment, the fibrous strands may include translucent or opaque materials formed of a semi-rigid or flexible material, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl-chloride (PVC), polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), various types of synthetic polyester meshes, or the like. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fibrous strands may include various other generally known materials, including anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral materials, without departing from the scope of the present teachings. Another possibility to form the anti-splash device is using steel strands, thus forming steel wool.

The cellular structure of the porous member may be manufactured from a rigid or a resilient material and includes a plurality of cells. The cells may be circular, rectangular, square, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal or the like. In particular embodiments, the shape is a honeycomb cellular structure, formed when each cell is hexagonal. The rigid material may be steel or plastic, the resilient material may be foam.

The porous member of the anti-splash device may be a woven or nonwoven net, formed from textile or steel fibres.

The anti-splash device is attached to the inner surface of the urinal in an detachable manner in order to enable replacing of the anti-splash device when the composition has provided a visual indication of getting used-up. The anti-splash device may be detachably attached by snapping it on a permanently glued bracket. Other attaching means are also conceivable, for instance hooking the anti-splash device on a patch of a permanently fastened loop material, providing the anti-splash device with suction cups attachable to the inner surface of the urinal, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a urinal with an anti-splash device;

FIG. 2 shows a stream of urine hitting the anti-splash device;

FIG. 3 shows the anti-splash device with the composition arranged at the central portion of the anti-splash device;

FIG. 4 shows the anti-splash device wherein the composition is used-up, clearly indicating the need to replace the anti-splash device;

FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate embodiments of porous members suitable in the anti-splash device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an anti-splash device 1 arranged at the inner surface 3 of a urinal 2. The urinal 2 is of a conventional kind with a manual or automatic flushing system (not shown). The anti-splash device 1 is detachably attached to the inner surface 3 of the urinal 2, at a location where the stream of urine is most likely to hit the wall of the urinal. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the anti-splash device is positioned at the lower portion of the inner side wall being furthest away from the user.

The splash-preventing function of the anti-splash device is illustrated in FIG. 2. The anti-splash device depicted in FIG. 2 has a honeycomb structure as described earlier. When the stream of urine 4 strikes the anti-splash device 1, the impact force of the urine is absorbed, thus decreasing the travelling velocity of the urine, causing it to fall down towards the outlet of the urinal, rather than be projected in a direction opposite to the direction of the impact. Further, the anti-splash device is capable of absorbing and retaining a certain amount of liquid, before the liquid is released in a controlled manner due to the force of gravity, and enters the outlet of the urinal. As mentioned above, the anti-splash device prevents the urine from being dispersed by action of the impact force when the urine hits the inner surface of the urinal, thus causing the drops of urine to leave the urinal bowl, and to become deposited on the surrounding surfaces, including the individual urinating.

The anti-splash device holds a composition including an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance, such that the composition provides a visual indication of when it is getting used-up. As mentioned above, the visual indication may be provided due to the colour change of the composition, or due to the composition being gradually removed from the anti-splash device upon repeated contact with urine and/or water.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate an embodiment wherein the composition is gradually removed upon repeated contact with the urine and/or water. Thus, in FIG. 3 the anti-splash device 1 includes a porous cellular structure 6 with rhomb-shaped cells. In the central portion 7 of the anti-splash device a composition 5 is arranged. The colour of the composition 5 differs from the colour of the porous cellular structure 6. This difference in colour should be perceptible by an unaided human eye. In particular embodiments, the colour of the porous cellular structure 6 is complementary to the colour of the composition.

As the anti-splash device is being used, the composition 5 is gradually removed from the porous cellular structure 6 of the anti-splash device 1 (FIG. 4). When the colour of the porous cellular structure 6 in the central portion of the anti-splash device is clearly visible, an indication is given to the user or the maintenance service that the anti-splash device needs to be replaced.

As mentioned above, the porous member may be a net structure or a fibrous structure, depicted in FIGS. 5a and 5b, respectively. Experiments have shown that the best anti-splashing properties are achieved when the porous member is a honeycomb structure, a thick high loft material, steel wool or steel net.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognise that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that the detailed description be regarded as illustrative and that the appended claims including all the equivalents are intended to define the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An anti-splash device (1) for urinals, said anti-splash device comprising a porous member adapted to be detachably attached to an inner surface (3) of a urinal (2), wherein said porous member holds a composition comprising an odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance, characterized in that said composition provides a visual indication of when said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance is getting used-up.

2. The anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that said visual indication is provided by a change of colour of said composition.

3. The anti-splash device according to claim 2, characterized in that it is said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance per se that changes colour.

4. The anti-splash device according to claim 2, characterized in that said change of colour is provided by a colorant comprised in said composition.

5. The anti-splash device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance and/or colorant has an acidic pH and changes colour when its pH rises above a pre-determined threshold.

6. The anti-splash device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance and/or colorant has an alkaline pH and changes colour when its pH drops below a pre-determined threshold.

7. The anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that said visual indication is provided by said composition comprising said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance being gradually decoloured or washed away by urine and/or water to expose an underlying surface of said porous member.

8. The anti-splash device according to claim 7, characterized in that said composition has a colour different from the colour of said porous member.

9. The anti-splash device according to claim 8, characterized in that it is said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance per se that has a colour different from the colour of said porous member.

10. The anti-splash device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said composition comprises a colorant that is washed away by urine and/or water at the same rate as the odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance.

11. The anti-splash device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said odour inhibiting and/or odour masking substance is chosen from the following group of substances: antimicrobial substances, odour adsorbent substances, scents, enzyme inhibiting substances, pH neutralizing substances, surfactants.

12. The splash device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said porous member is chosen from the following group of structures: cellular structures, fibrous structures, nets.

13. The anti-splash device as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that said cellular structure is a honeycomb structure.