Patent Application
20080134420
Each document cited in this text (“application cited documents”) and each document cited or referenced in each of the application cited documents, and any manufacturer's specifications, data sheets, descriptions, product literature, instructions and the like for any products mentioned herein or in herein cited documents or in documents cited in herein cited documents, is hereby incorporated herein by reference. None of the documents incorporated by reference into this text is admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention, but, documents incorporated by reference into this text may be employed in the practice of the invention.
The present invention relates to a toilet seat and lid and in particular a toilet seat and lid in combination with an ultra-violet light source which acts on a titanium dioxide coating on a surface of a toilet to produce a cleaning effect.
Devices incorporating an ultra-violet (“UV”) light into a traditional toilet seat for the purpose of producing an anti-microbial effect are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,460,543 (the “'543 patent”) and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,276 (the '276 patent”). In the '543 patent, the light is placed under the toilet seat itself and is formed about the circumference of the underside of the seat. This orientation causes good antimicrobial effect on the rim of the toilet, but because of the light's location less energy is focused into the bowl of toilet. Typically, sufficient intensity of light along with sufficient time of exposure are considered necessary to kill bacteria. Because of its orientation, the toilet seat of the '543 patent does not appear to provide the necessary intensity into the bowl itself.
In the '276 patent, the UV light is formed in the lower section of the toilet lid with the light projecting outward and downward in order to provide sufficient intensity to kill bacteria in the bowl. However, the location of the light is less than optimal for projecting energy onto the rim of the toilet bowl or into the bowl itself.
Both of these devices include UV lights using UV bulbs. UV lights in the form or light bulbs are relatively expensive, use large amounts of energy, and require approximately 40-75 Watts of energy at 120 Volts. As can be readily understood by those of skill in the art, the presence of such an energy source in close proximity to water, and particularly water that may be in very close proximity to an individual, is less than desirable.
Moreover, though the preceding described devices are directed to use of energy sufficient to kill microbes, such an energy output can have detrimental effects on users. Indeed, UV light of sufficient energy to kill microbes can cause serious injury to humans. For example, prolonged exposure can lead to sight issues, and more immediately even relatively short exposure to UV light in the 230-260 nm (nanometer) wavelength range is well known to cause serious burns to the skin of individuals. Perhaps in view of these problems there has been relatively little large scale commercialization of UV light toilet seats. Still further, even when used to good antimicrobial effect, the toilets on which such devices are mounted are not cleaned. That is they are still susceptible to staining or being dirty, and in fact the killed microbes actually add to the problem.
The present invention endeavors to overcome the problems of the prior art and provide a toilet seat and lid with a UV light which produces a cleaning effect using UV light outside of the dangerous anti-microbial wavelength range and which does not present a significant risk of electrocution.
One aspect of the present invention is directed to a device for cleaning a toilet bowl including a toilet seat assembly having a toilet lid and a toilet seat, a UV-light source producing near UV light of a wavelength of about 360-410 nm secured to an interior side of the toilet lid, a first switch for turning the UV light source on when the toilet lid is placed in a closed position, and a second switch for turning the UV light off upon expiration of a predetermined period of time.
Additional features of the instant invention may include the toilet bowl being coated with a photocatalyst. One photocatalyst that may be used is TiO2 suspended in an acrylic or polymer suspension. Further the first switch may be a gravity switch located in a dome housing also containing the UV light source. Alternatively the first switch may be a normally open switch located proximal to the edge of the toilet lid and closes upon closing of the toilet lid. Still further the UV light source may be an LED or a plurality of LEDs.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a kit for retrofitting a toilet bowl and toilet seat assembly combination including a TiO2 coating material to be applied to the surface of the toilet bowl, and a UV light source to be connected to a toilet lid of the toilet seat.
Further aspects of the kit may include the coating material being an acrylic based material, the UV light source being a plurality of LEDs. The UV light source may be located in a housing including a power source and one or more switches. The kit may include a normally open switch to be placed proximate to the edge of the toilet lid and a timing switch, or alternatively a timing switch and a gravity switch.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of producing a cleaning effect in a toilet bowl including the steps of coating surfaces of toilet bowl where the cleaning effect is desired with a photocatalyst coating, providing a UV light source producing UV light having a wavelength of about 360-410 nm, and energizing the UV light source for a predetermined period of time to allow the UV light to react with the photocatalyst coating to produce a photocatalytic effect at the coated surface of the toilet to oxidize organic stain producing compounds.
In one aspect of the method the photocatalyst is TiO2. The surface to be coated with the photocatalyst may be the internal bowl portion of the toilet, and may include the rim of the toilet.
Yet another aspect of the instant invention is a method of treating a toilet bowl to effect a photocatalytic process including steps of providing a UV light source, coating a desired portion of a toilet bowl with an photocatalytic material, and exposing the portion of the toilet bowl coated with the photocatalytic material to the UV light. In one aspect of this method the photocatalytic material may be an acrylic based TiO2. The coating may be performed at regular intervals. These regular intervals may include weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually.
In this text, the terms “comprising”, “comprise”, “comprises” and other forms of “comprise” can have the meaning ascribed to these terms in U.S. Patent Law and can mean “including”, “include”, “includes” and other forms of “include”.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out in particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying descriptive matter in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which corresponding components are identified by the same reference numerals.
In the following detailed description of the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, incorporated herein by reference, wherein:
The present invention can be seen in
To create an effective cleaning action, the toilet 17 bowl and surfaces to be cleaned must be coated with a photocatalyst such as a titanium dioxide (TiO2) in an acrylic or polymer suspension. Other photocatalysts known to those of skill in the art including but not limited to Tungsten Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Zinc Sulfide, and Tin Oxide maybe used. When the photocatalyst coating receives ultraviolet radiation, a hydroxyl radical (—OH) or a sulfahydril radical (—SH), with its high performance in oxidative decomposition, and an anion such as a superoxide anion (—O2—), with its high performance in deoxidization, are generated on the surface. These substances decompose organic compounds, which unless treated would turn into stains. Thus, by having a toilet bowl 17 coated with, for example, a TiO2 coating and by supplying a UV light, the present invention is able to effectively clean the toilet bowl surface and prevent or remove stains in the bowl and on the surfaces of the toilet.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a photocatalyst coating material such as TiO2 which is contained in an acrylic mixture that can be coated onto an existing toilet bowl and enable the use of the present invention with any toilet bowl currently in use. Acrylic makes the surface of the toilet bowl non-porous thereby preventing bacteria and dirt from sticking to the bowl, making the bowl easier to clean. According to this aspect of the invention the coating material is simply painted onto the desired surface of the toilet and allowed to dry. The coating may be performed as need depending upon the use of the individual toilet such that for example a single person living alone might only need to coat the toilet once per year, whereas a large family may need to coat the toilet once per quarter and a public restroom may need to be coated monthly or bimonthly.
Alternatively, during the manufacturing process of a toilet bowl 17, a photocatalytic material may be incorporated into the process such that the surfaces of the toilet bowl 17 include the photocatalyst material.
As with the painted on photocatalyst material, the dome-shaped housing 14 with the UV lights, which will be discussed in detail below, can also be sold along with the photocatalyst coating material as part of a kit for retrofitting to any existing toilet seat.
The dome-shaped housing 14 with the UV lights is shown in
Another alternative to the two switches 104 and 106 is the inclusion of a simple pressure switch 18 which connect to the power source 102 and extends to the edge of the toilet lid 12, preferably at the rear of the toilet lid 12, where the toilet lid 12 and the toilet seat 16 connect. Such a switch can be secured on the bottom surface of the toilet lid 12 and be a normally open switch. Upon putting the toilet lid 12 in the lowered position, as shown in
Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by the above paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth in the above description, as many apparent variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.
