The invention relates generally to sanitizing devices. Embodiments also relate to toilet seat covers of the kind that when placed in situ effectively isolate an individual's skin from any contact with the toilet seat, and is easily disposable following use. More particularly, some embodiments are directed to a disposable, water-soluble protective toilet seat cover and sanitizer.
It is known that public restrooms and toilets are frequently not kept as clean and sanitary as basic hygiene standards require. This is particularly true of toilets and toilet seats that must be used by multiple persons. The toilet seats may be soiled or wet and/or may contain disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
A user generally has no choice but to use such facilities and may attempt to wipe the seat with toilet paper or other tissue. Additionally, a user may use toilet paper to cover the seat to provide a barrier between the user and the seat. This attempt is usually unsatisfactory because the toilet paper has a tendency to move during use. Moreover, toilet paper is absorbent; therefore, any moisture from the seat will soak through and contact the skin of the user. Furthermore, toilet paper on the seat does not solve the problem of wet or dirty toilet seats.
Some restrooms have paper toilet seat covers that may be used on the toilet seat. These covers are made of paper and are shaped to fit the shape of the seat. After use, the paper is flushed down the toilet. However, the paper has a tendency to slide over the surface of the seat and not stay in place. In addition, since these covers are flushable, moisture may also soak through the paper to the skin of the user. To prevent this, some seat covers are oversized to drape down the sides of the toilet bowl; others recommend adhering the cover to the toilet seat. Thus, paper seat covers do not provide satisfactory results of keeping the user clean and dry when using a public toilet.
Moreover, users of public restrooms are often subjected to toilets having bowls that have not been cleaned after the previous user. Often, the bowl is unclean and possibly a health hazard. It is impractical to expect that a public restroom should be cleaned after each use. It is also highly impractical to expect users to clean a toilet bowl after using it.
Accordingly, there is a need for a toilet bowl cover/bowl sanitizing system that is easy to use and effective.
According to one aspect, the present technology is a disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer. The disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer may comprise: a layer, the disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer having at least at least one portion thereof treated with a detergent and/or a disinfectant, the at least one treated portion being generally centrally arranged, the layer having perforations or frangible zone, wherein the perforations or fragile zone is configured to allow at least part of the treated portion to be at least partially detached from the disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer, thereby creating a central opening.
According to another aspect of the present technology, a disposable toilet bowl sanitizer for introduction into a toilet bowl is provided. The disposable toilet bowl sanitizer may comprise: at least one sanitizing portion, said at least one sanitizing portion comprising a substrate layer wherein said substrate layer is treated with a detergent and/or a disinfectant.
According to another aspect, the present technology is directed to a disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer including a base layer and a barrier layer adjacent thereto. The disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer has at least at least one portion thereof treated with a detergent and/or a disinfectant, the at least one treated portion is generally centrally arranged and is surrounded by a non-treated portion. The treated and non-treated portions are delimited by a perforation or frangible zone; the treated portion is configured to be detached from the disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer, thereby creating a central opening in the untreated portion.
Further, in another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a disposable toilet bowl sanitizer configured to be introduced into a toilet bowl. The disposable toilet bowl sanitizer includes a base layer and a barrier layer adjacent thereto and is treated with a detergent and/or a disinfectant.
According to another aspect, a method for preparing a toilet seat cover/sanitizer may comprise: providing at least one substrate or layer portion; treating, at least partially, the at least one substrate or portion with a detergent and/or a disinfectant, the detergent and/or a disinfectant being locally absorbed into the material of the substrate or layer portion; providing perforations or a frangible zone around at least part of the treated portion, the perforations or frangible zone and packaging the cover/sanitizer.
In some embodiments of the method, the detergent and/or disinfectant is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, isopropyl alcohol, sodium hypochlorite, alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride; triclosan; and combinations thereof
In some embodiments, the method further comprises spraying, spot application or rolling the detergent and/or disinfectant to the substrate or layer portion.
In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a method for preparing a toilet seat cover/sanitizer. The method includes: providing a substrate or base layer; treating, at least partially, the substrate with a detergent and/or a disinfectant, the detergent and/or a disinfectant being locally absorbed into the material of the base layer; applying a barrier layer to a side of the base layer opposite to the side that was treated with the detergent and/or disinfectant; providing perforations around the treated portion, the perforation thereby defining a boundary between the seat cover portion the sanitizing portion; and packaging the cover/sanitizer.
In a yet further embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a hygienic restroom kit including a container containing therein at least one disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer according to any one of the aforementioned aspects or embodiments. In some embodiments, the at least one disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer contained in the container has a base layer and a barrier layer adjacent thereto. The at least one disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer can have at least at least one portion thereof treated with a detergent and/or a disinfectant. The at least one treated portion may be generally centrally arranged and is surrounded by a non-treated portion; the treated and non-treated portions are delimited by a perforation or frangible zone. The treated portion may be configured to be detached from the disposable toilet seat cover/sanitizer, thereby creating a central opening in the untreated portion.
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments, which are presently preferred. It is understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “right,” “left,” “top,” and “bottom” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “a” and “one,” as used in the claims and in the corresponding portions of the specification, are defined as including one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. An article may be referred to as “disposable” meaning that it is easily discarded or thrown away and is not intended for multiple uses. Thus, an article formed of hard, molded plastic or similar material would not be considered disposable. An article may be referred to as “biodegradable” meaning that it is easily broken down chemically by the environment. Finally, a substance or article may be referred to as “water-soluble” meaning that it is partially, substantially, or completely dissolvable in water. This terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. The phrase “at least one” followed by a list of two or more items, such as “A, B, or C,” means any individual one of A, B or C as well as any combination thereof.
Seat cover portion 20 is configured to be arranged on top of a toilet seat S, whereas sanitizer portion 30 is configured to be separated from the seat cover portion 20 via perforations 40. Portion 30 is used as a sanitizer, having been previously treated (pretreated) with a disinfectant and or a cleaning agent. Some examples of suitable detergents/disinfectant agents include but are not limited to: surfactants, isopropyl alcohol, sodium hypochlorite, alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride; triclosan, etc. Alternatively, portion 30 can be treated with aloe, gentle lotions or cleaners and can be used as a personal hygienic product. In some embodiments, the cover/sanitizer 10 has a single rather than multiple layers. Also, in some embodiments, the treated portion may also include at least part or all of portion 20.
As shown in
As a result, once separated from the seat cover portion 20, the sanitizing portion 30 can be placed in the bowl B of the toilet T in order to disinfect and partially clean the bowl just by the mere introduction of the disinfecting agent impregnated in the base layer 60. Further, since the hydrophobic barrier layer 70 will cause the sanitizing portion 30 to float on the water in the bowl, the sanitizing portion 30 thereby creates a barrier between the toilet bowl water and the user. (See
In yet some other embodiments, the sanitizing portions 30,31 are partially separable from the seat cover portions 20, 21 and hang down into bowl T. In some embodiments, the sanitizing portions 30,31 that are at least partially separable are configured to hang down and at least partially float on the water in the bowl.
Turning now to
While the rings may be generally circular or square like or other shapes, by providing different annular inner regions 31-33 pretreated with detergent or disinfectant, a user has different options for using the accessory as a disinfecting device in addition to the toilet seat covering function. For example, if a user is in a rush, he or she can quickly and easily punch out the smaller central inner region 31 because it is centrally located and has a small circumference of perforations or zones of weakness. In other situations, for example a backsplash with more surface area is needed (for example because the toilet shape is less than conventional or because the water level is higher in the bowl and so the surface area of the water level may be larger than normal) the user has the option to punch or tear the outer perforation of inner region 32 whilst leaving 31 connected to 32 so that the resulting region of pretreated material having a surface area that is larger than central inner region 31 is entirely separated from the cover seat outer region 33 and middle region 32.
The larger surface area of pretreated material can then be placed inside the toilet bowel to cover a larger surface area whereas the outer region 33 and middle region 32 can serve as the seat cover 20. If a pretreated material surface area even larger than 31-33 region is required, then the user has the option to punch or tear the outer perforation of the largest sanitizing portion 33 while leaving regions 31 and 32 connected to 33 so that the resulting region of pretreated material having a surface area of sanitizing portions 31, 32, and 33 combined.
The larger surface area of sanitizing portions 31, 32, and 33 combined can then be placed inside the toilet bowl to cover an even larger surface area whereas the outermost portion can serve as the seat cover 20. Adopting multiple inner regions also provides a user with options on configuring how large a surface area the seat cover region may be. For example, round toilet seats may be fully covered by outer region 34 alone, whereas oval shaped toilet seats may be more adequately covered. Providing multiple perforated annular regions allows the user to configure the toilet seat cover and backsplash disinfectant material more precisely according to the shape of the toilet seat and the bowl profile and/or water level.
In some embodiments, the cover/sanitizer of
The sanitizing portion can also be provided independent of the seat cover 20.
It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but is intended to cover all modifications which are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims; the above description; and/or shown in the attached drawings.