DISPOSABLE TOILET-SEAT COVER AND METHOD OF USING SAME

Abstract

A disposable toilet-seat cover for attaching to a toilet seat of a toilet has a plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked together and separably coupled to each other via a first adhesive. Each seat-cover sheet has a shape for completely covering the toilet seat and has a central opening matching and alignable with a central opening of the toilet seat for access to a bowl of the toilet.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a sanitary apparatus, and in particular to a disposable toilet seat and a disposable toilet-seat cover.

BACKGROUND

Toilets and in particular public toilets face various sanitary issues. Generally, a sitting toilet comprises a toilet seat for a user to sit thereon. While the toilet seat may be periodically sanitized, sanitizing toilet seats may only be practically applicable for private toilets such as home-use toilets or toilets in hotel guest-rooms. Public toilets such as those in public areas (e.g., coffee shops, stores, malls, public areas of hotels, and the like) are generally used in high frequencies and it is usually difficult or even impossible to sanitize toilet seats of public toilets before every use.

Sanitarily protective toilet-seat covers are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,237 teaches a disposable protector for toilet seats having a cover of paper or similar material with a center cut-out generally conforming to the opening in the seat. The cover has a retainer member which may be in the form of a flange or tab which engage the inner edge of the seat to temporarily secure the protector in place during use. The underside of the cover may also have a frictional material such as latex or a low-tack adhesive. The cover may be treated with a suitable anti-bacterial agent and may be provided to the consumer in a dispenser or in individualized packages that may be conveniently carried by the user.

However, such a cover has issues such as the burden to the user to manually put the cover onto the toilet seat before each use, and the need of sufficient alignment between the cover and the toilet seat. Any misalignment between the cover and the toilet seat may lead to direct contact between the user's skin and the toilet seat thereby causing health risks to the user.

US Patent Publication No. 2005/0144710 teaches a toilet-seat cover device for automatically laying toilet-seat cover. In particular, US 2005/0144710 teaches a clean toilet seat capable of covering the toilet seat with a toilet-seat cover sheet automatically, securely and quickly, with such a cover sheet being replaced at each time of use so that people can always avoid contact with skin of others. In a thing having a toilet seat body placed on a surface of a toilet stool body, and an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to the toilet seat body and covering a surface of the toilet seat, a plurality of cover sheets are housed in the above-described opening and closing lid, and on an occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid, the cover sheet covers the surface of the toilet seat body.

However, such a toilet-seat cover device has issues such as the burden to the user to manually put down the toilet lid and press it against the toilet seat to stick a toilet-seat cover sheet onto the toilet seat. As the unused toilet-seat cover sheets are stored in the toilet lid and the sticky surface of the front-most sheet is exposed to the air, any contamination of the sticky surface of the front-most sheet may cause the front-most sheet unable to stick to the toilet seat. Moreover, such a toilet-seat cover device may not allow the toilet-seat cover sheet to sufficiently align with the toilet seat if the toilet lid is loose. Any misalignment between the cover and the toilet seat may lead to direct contact between the user's skin and the toilet seat thereby causing health risks to the user.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a disposable toilet-seat cover for attaching to a toilet seat of a toilet. The disposable toilet-seat cover comprises: a plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked together and separably coupled to each other via a first adhesive. Each seat-cover sheet has a shape for completely covering the toilet seat and has a central opening matching and alignable with a central opening of the toilet seat for access to a bowl of the toilet.

According to one aspect of this disclosure, there is provided a disposable toilet-seat cover for attaching to a toilet bowl of a toilet. The disposable toilet-seat cover comprises a plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked together and separably coupled to each other via a first adhesive. Each seat-cover sheet comprises a body having a shape for completely covering the toilet bowl and having a central opening matching a central opening of the toilet bowl for accessing thereto.

In some embodiments, the body of each seat-cover sheet has a shape for matching and completely covering a toilet seat of the toilet.

In some embodiments, each seat-cover sheet is coated with a waterproof, water-repellant, impermeable, or water-resistant material on a top surface thereof.

In some embodiments, each seat-cover sheet is coated with the first adhesive on a bottom surface thereof.

In some embodiments, each seat-cover sheet comprises a tab extending from the body for peeling off the seat-cover sheet from the plurality of seat-cover sheets.

In some embodiments, the tab of each seat-cover sheet extends from a rear portion of the body and has an edge smoothly transmitting into the edge of the rear portion of the seat-cover sheet.

In some embodiments, the first adhesive is only coated on the bottom surface of the body of each seat-cover sheet.

In some embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover further comprises a substrate separably coupled to the bottom of the stacked plurality of seat-cover sheets.

In some embodiments, the substrate comprises one or more detachable hinges engageable with one or more corresponding detachable hinges adjacent the toil bowl.

In some embodiments, the substrate is made of a paperboard, a plastic board, or a metal board.

In some embodiments, the substrate is coated with a second adhesive on a bottom surface thereof.

In some embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover further comprises a protective sheet separably coupled to the bottom of the substrate.

In some embodiments, the first and second adhesives are different adhesives.

In some embodiments, the first and second adhesives are a same adhesive.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second adhesives is a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a low-tack adhesive.

In some embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover further comprises a substrate separably coupled to the bottom of the stacked plurality of seat-cover sheets. Each seat-cover sheet comprises a tab extending from the body for peeling off the seat-cover sheet from the plurality of seat-cover sheets; and the substrate comprises a tab extending from the body at a location corresponding to that of the tab of each seat-cover sheet for receiving the tabs of the plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked thereabove.

In some embodiments, the toilet-seat cover has a cross-section with curved upper and lower sides.

In some embodiments, the toilet-seat cover has a cross-section of a trapezoid shape.

In some embodiments, edges of each seat-cover sheet is wrapped about edges of one or more seat-cover sheets thereunder.

In some embodiments, the body of each seat-cover sheet has a ring shape or a U-shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable toilet-seat cover, according to some embodiments of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a seat-cover sheet of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a substrate of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1 along cross-sectional lines A-A, B-B, and C-C, respectively;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a process of installing the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1 onto a toilet seat;

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate a process of preparing the installed disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1 before a use of the toilet;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 1, according to some embodiments of this disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a disposable toilet-seat cover, according to some embodiments of this disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a seat-cover sheet of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a substrate of the disposable toilet-scat cover shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a disposable toilet-seat cover having a housing receiving therein a roll of seat-cover sheets, according to some embodiments of this disclosure, wherein;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 11 along the cross-sectional line D-D;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 11 with a seat-cover sheet being pulled out of the housing;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a “tank-less” toilet;

FIG. 15 illustrate a process of installing the disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 11 onto a toilet seat of the toilet shown in FIG. 14; and

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate a process of preparing the installed disposable toilet-seat cover shown in FIG. 11 before a use of the toilet shown in FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein disclose a disposable toilet-seat cover for attaching onto a toilet for providing users with sanitary protection during their use of the toilet. Herein, the toilet may be a toilet permanently installed in a public washroom, a private washroom, a vehicle, or the like. The toilet may also be a portable toilet or a toilet temporarily installed at a site. In some embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover disclosed herein may be used as a cover attachable to a toilet seat preinstalled on the toilet. In some alternative embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover disclosed herein may be used as a toilet seat demountably attaching to a toilet without a preinstalled toilet seat.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a disposable toilet-seat cover is shown and is generally identified using reference numeral 100. The disposable toilet-seat cover 100 in these embodiments is in the form of a disposable toilet-seat-cover stack and comprises a plurality of disposable seat-cover sheets 102 stacked on top of a substrate 104.

Each seat-cover sheet 102 comprises a body having a shape similar to or substantively the same as that of a toilet seat. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the body of the toilet-seat-cover sheets 102 have a ring shape and comprise a longitudinally widened rear portion 108 with a tab 110 extending rearwardly from a rear portion 108 of the body for facilitating peeling off the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 before each use. For lowering the risk of tearing the tab 110 off the seat-cover sheet 102, the tab 110 has a sufficient lateral width and the edge thereof smoothly transits into the edge of the rear portion 108.

The body of each seat-cover sheet 102 also comprises two arms 112 extending from two laterally opposite sides of the rear portion 108 and merging into a front portion 114 to form a ring shape enclosing a central opening 116 substantively matching and aligning with the central opening of a toilet seat (not shown) and accessible to the toilet bowl when the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 is attached onto the toilet seat.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shape of the substrate 104 is similar to that of the seat-cover sheet 102 except that the substrate 104 may not comprise a tab 110 extending rearwardly from the rear portion 108 thereof.

FIG. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views of the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 along cross-sectional lines A-A, B-B, and C-C, respectively. As can be seen, each of the seat-cover sheets 102 and the substrate 104 has a slightly curved cross-section such that the seat-cover stack formed by the seat-cover sheets 102 has a cross-section with slightly curved upper and lower sides for adapting to the profile of the top surface of the toilet seat.

In these embodiments, the substrate 104 is made of a material with a sufficient strength for maintaining the shape thereof during handling and for supporting the seat-cover sheets 102 stacked thereabove under pressure when use. For example, the substrate 104 may be made of a paperboard, a plastic board, a metal board, and/or the like. The bottom surface of the substrate 104 is coated with a layer of a first adhesive such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a low-tack adhesive, and/or the like, for separably or demountably attaching to a toilet seat.

Each seat-cover sheet 102 is a thin layer of a disposable material such as paper. The bottom surface of each seat-cover sheet 102 (except the tab 110 thereof) is coated with a layer of a second adhesive such as a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a low-tack adhesive, and/or the like, for separably or demountably attaching to the seat-cover sheet 102 thereunder or to the substrate 104. In various embodiments, the first and second adhesives may be different adhesives or may be the same adhesive, depending on the design requirements and implementation.

In these embodiments, the tab 110 of each seat-cover sheet 102 is not coated with any adhesive to allow a user to hold and peel the seat-cover sheet 102 off from the stack.

In some embodiments, the top surface of each seat-cover sheet 102 is coated with a suitable waterproof, water-repellent, impermeable, and/or water-resistant material for preventing water-based liquid (such as urine) from seeping or penetrating through the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 to the seat-cover sheet 102 thereunder when the water-based liquid is spilled onto the disposable toilet-seat cover 100.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate a process of installing the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 onto a toilet seat 202.

As shown in FIG. 5A, to install the disposable toilet-seat cover 100, the toilet seat 206 of the toilet 202 is first lowered onto the toilet bowl 204. Then, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 is put onto the toilet seat 206 as indicated by the arrow 208 with the substrate 104 facing the top surface of the toilet seat 206.

As shown in FIG. 5B, a downward pressure 210 is applied to the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 at multiple positions thereof against the toilet seat 206 to demountably attach the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 to the toilet seat 206. The disposable toilet-seat cover 100 is then installed onto the toilet seat 206. After installation, the toilet seat 206 and the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 attached thereto may be turned to an upright position or may be lowered onto the toilet bowl 204 as needed.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a process of preparing the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 before a use of the toilet 202.

As shown in FIG. 6A, a user (not shown) may grab the tab 110 of the topmost seat-cover sheet 102-1 and pull it upward as indicated by the arrow 242 to overcome the adhesion of the adhesive between the topmost seat-cover sheet 102-1 and the seat-cover sheet 102 thereunder.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 is then peeled off from the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 and may be disposed.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the next scat-cover sheet 102-2 is then at the topmost and the toilet 202 is ready for use.

As the top surface of each seat-cover sheet 102 is coated with a suitable waterproof, water-repellent, impermeable, and/or water-resistant material, contamination to the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 would not seep or penetrate therethrough to the seat-cover sheet 102 thereunder. Therefore, if the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 is contaminated, the user may simply peel off the contaminated seat-cover sheet 102 and use the uncontaminated one thereunder.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various embodiments are readily available. For example, while in above embodiments, the seat-cover sheets 102 of a disposable toilet-seat cover 100 are of a substantively same size, in some alternative embodiments, the widths of the rings of the seat-cover sheets 102 may successively increase from the bottom layer to the top layer, as shown in FIG. 7. Therefore, the cross-section of the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 at any position thereof has a trapezoid shape with the upper edge longer than the lower edge (both slightly curved) thereof such that any fluid spilled onto the top of the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may drop off from the inner and/or outer edges of the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 without contacting the seat-cover sheets thereunder.

In some embodiments, the body of each seat-cover sheet may have a size greater than that of the seat-cover sheets thereunder and the edges of each seat-cover sheet may be wrapped about the edges of one or more seat-cover sheets thereunder such that any fluid spilled onto the top of the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may drop off from the inner and/or outer edges of the topmost seat-cover sheet 102 without contacting the seat-cover sheets thereunder.

Although in above embodiments, the seat-cover sheets 102 and the substrate 104 have a ring shape, in some alternative embodiments as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the seat-cover sheets 102 and/or the substrate 104 may have a U-shape that has a gap or opening 302 at the front side thereof.

in some alternative embodiments, the substrate 104 may also comprise a tab 110 at a location corresponding to the tabs 110 of the seat-cover sheets 102 for receiving the tabs 110 of the seat-cover sheets 102 stacked thereabove.

Although in above embodiments, each seat-cover sheet 102 comprises a tab 110 at a rear end thereof, in some alternative embodiments, at least some of the seat-cover sheets 102 may each comprise a tab 110 at any other suitable position.

Although in above embodiments, each seat-cover sheet 102 comprises a tab 110, in some alternative embodiments, at least some of the seat-cover sheets 102 may not comprise any tab 110.

Although in above embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 comprises a substrate 104, in some alternative embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may not comprise any substrate 104.

In above embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 is used for attaching to a toilet seat. In some alternative embodiments, the above-described disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may be used as a disposable toilet seat. In these embodiments, the substrate 104 may be made of a rigid material such as plastic, metal, and/or the like, such that the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may be directly put onto the rim of a toilet bowl and the adhesive on the bottom surface of the substrate 104 may removably attach the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 thereto. Therefore, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 in these embodiments may be used as a disposable toilet seat.

In some related embodiments, the bottom surface of the substrate 104 may not comprise any adhesive layer. Rather, the substrate 104 may comprise one or more detachable hinges engageable with one or more corresponding detachable hinges adjacent the toil bowl. Thus, the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may be removably attached to the toilet by engaging the detachable hinges thereof. In use, such a disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may be turned to an upright position and lowered onto the toilet bowl as needed. Moreover, a used seat-cover sheet 102 of the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 may be peeled off as described above.

The toilet-seat cover 100 may be packaged for shipping and sales. In use, a user may remove the package of a toilet-seat cover 100 and then attaching the toilet-seat cover 100 to a toilet or toilet seat. In some embodiments wherein the substrate 104 is coated with a layer of an adhesive, the packaging may comprise a protective layer attached to the bottom surface of the substrate 104 for protecting the adhesive layer thereof The protective layer may be a release liner made of a coated paper or film.

FIGS. 11 to 13 show a disposable toilet-seat cover 400 in some alternative embodiments. In these embodiments, the disposable toilet-seat cover 400 comprises a housing 402 receiving therein a roll of seat-cover sheets 404. The housing 402 comprises an opening 406 at a front side 408 thereof for pulling out the seat-cover sheets 406. The bottom surface 410 of the housing 402 is coated with a suitable adhesive (not shown) and the adhesive-coated bottom surface 410 may be protected by a removable or separable protective sheet (not shown) before the disposable toilet-seat cover 400 is attached to a toilet.

Each seat-cover sheet 406 may be pulled out of the housing 402 through the opening 406. As shown in FIG. 13, each seat-cover sheet 406 may be in any suitable shape such as a rectangle, a shape matching that of a toilet seat, or the like, and comprises a central opening 412 substantively matching and aligning with the central opening of a toilet seat (not shown) and accessible to the toilet bowl when the disposable toilet-seat cover 100 is attached onto a toilet seat.

In these embodiments, the bottom surface of each seat-cover sheet 406 is coated with a layer of adhesive such as pressure sensitive adhesive, low-tack adhesive, and/or the like, for demountably attaching to the toilet seat. Moreover, each seat-cover sheet 406 is coupled to adjacent seat-cover sheets and is separable along a tearing line 414 formed by, e.g., a row of punch holes.

The disposable toilet-seat cover 400 may be used with a “tank-less” toilet 440 as shown in FIG. 14. As shown, the toilet 440 comprises a bowl 444 and a receiving surface 446 adjacent a rear end thereof. The bowl 444 receives thereon a toilet seat 448 having a central opening 450. The toilet 440 does not comprise an attached water tank. Rather, the bowl 444 of the toilet 440 is fluidly connected to a detached flushing system (not shown) via necessary piping.

As shown in FIG. 15, the disposable toilet-seat cover 400 may be easily installed onto a toilet 440 by first removing the protective sheet (not shown) from the bottom surface of the disposable toilet-seat cover 400, and then removably attaching the disposable toilet-seat cover 400 to the receiving surface 446 of the toilet 440 with the opening 406 facing front.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show a process of preparing the disposable toilet-seat cover 404 before a use of the toilet 440.

First, if the toilet seat 448 is covered with a used toilet-seat cover 404, the used toilet-seat cover 404 is removed from the toilet seat 448 and is disposed.

As shown in FIG. 16A, a toilet-seat cover 404 is then pulled out of the housing 402 through the opening 406, and is separated from the roll of toilet-seat covers by tearing along the tearing line 414.

As shown in FIG. 16B, the separated toilet-seat cover 404 is attached to the toilet seat 448 with the opening 412 of the separated toilet-seat cover 404 aligning with the opening 450 of the toilet seat 448. The toilet 440 is then ready for use.

Although embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A disposable toilet-seat cover for attaching to a toilet bowl of a toilet, the disposable toilet-seat cover comprising: a plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked together and separably coupled to each other via a first adhesive;wherein each seat-cover sheet comprises a body having a shape for completely covering the toilet bowl and having a central opening matching a central opening of the toilet bowl for accessing thereto.

2. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein the body of each seat-cover sheet has a shape for matching and completely covering a toilet seat of the toilet.

3. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein each seat-cover sheet is coated with a waterproof, water-repellant, impermeable, or water-resistant material on a top surface thereof.

4. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein each seat-cover sheet is coated with the first adhesive on a bottom surface thereof.

5. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 4, wherein each seat-cover sheet comprises a first tab extending from the body for peeling off the seat-cover sheet from the plurality of seat-cover sheets.

6. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 5, wherein the first tab of each seat-cover sheet extends from a rear portion of the body and has an edge smoothly transmitting into the edge of the rear portion of the seat-cover sheet.

7. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 5, wherein the first adhesive is only coated on the bottom surface of the body of each seat-cover sheet.

8. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1 further comprising: a substrate separably coupled to the bottom of the stacked plurality of seat-cover sheets;wherein each seat-cover sheet comprises a first tab extending from the body for peeling off the seat-cover sheet from the plurality of seat-cover sheets; andwherein the substrate comprises a second tab extending from the body at a location corresponding to that of the first tab of each seat-cover sheet for receiving the first tabs of the plurality of seat-cover sheets stacked thereabove.

9. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1 further comprising a substrate separably coupled to the bottom of the stacked plurality of seat-cover sheets.

10. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 9, wherein the substrate comprises one or more detachable hinges engageable with one or more corresponding detachable hinges adjacent the toil bowl.

11. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 9, wherein the substrate is made of a paperboard, a plastic board, or a metal board.

12. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 9, wherein the substrate is coated with a second adhesive on a bottom surface thereof.

13. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 12 further comprising a protective sheet separably coupled to the bottom of the substrate.

14. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 12, wherein the first and second adhesives are different adhesives.

15. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 12, wherein the first and second adhesives are a same adhesive.

16. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 12, wherein at least one of the first and second adhesives is a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a low-tack adhesive.

17. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein the toilet-seat cover has a cross-section with curved upper and lower sides.

18. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein the toilet-seat cover has a cross-section of a trapezoid shape.

19. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein edges of each seat-cover sheet is wrapped about edges of one or more seat-cover sheets thereunder.

20. The disposable toilet-seat cover of claim 1, wherein the body of each seat-cover sheet has a ring shape or a U-shape.