Patent Application
20060130221
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to multi-function dispensers and more specifically to a device for diffusing an air-treatment concentrate to the ambient air surrounding a toilet and for dispersing a water-treatment concentrate to the tank of the toilet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Assemblies for diffusing air-treatment concentrates are well known. Such air-treatment assemblies were used to provide an air-diffused fragrance to mask offensive odors in the living areas of a house or the work and service areas of commercial environments. Diffusion of masking fragrances was especially useful in bathrooms and kitchen areas that were subject to a higher incidence of offensive odors. Assemblies were also used to diffuse an air-treatment concentrate capable of otherwise treating ambient air. Various means were developed to improve the diffusion of fragrances or treatment concentrates from the assemblies of the prior art. For example, fan assists were included in the assemblies to increase airflow across the air-treatment concentrate and thus the diffusion of the concentrate in ambient air. Heating elements were also included in some prior art assemblies to increase the temperature of the air-treatment concentrate to aid in volatilization of the concentrate and thus the diffusion of the concentrate.
Assemblies for discharging a water-treatment concentrate to the flush water contained in the tank or bowl of a toilet are also well known in the art. Such water-treatment assemblies were used to clean, color, or otherwise treat the water used to flush the toilet.
One type of such prior art water-treatment assembly, sometimes referred to as a “tank-hanger” assembly, pretreated the flush water by placement of a water-treatment concentrate directly in the toilet tank, or by placement of a water-treatment concentrate in a housing or reservoir. One type of tank-hanger assembly was the “active” assembly, which pumped or siphoned a solution of dissolved water-treatment concentrate into the toilet tank, usually at the flush cycle (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,718 by Corsette). With an active assembly, the housing containing the water-treatment concentrate could be located inside the toilet tank above the fill-level of the toilet tank or could be located completely or partially below the fill-level. Another type of tank-hanger assembly was the “passive” assembly, in which the water-treatment concentrate was placed inside the toilet tank in a housing at least partially submerged below the toilet tank fill-level. The water-treatment concentrate then passively dispersed in the tank water during the quiescent period between toilet flushes (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,027 by Wages).
Another type of prior art water-treatment assembly, sometimes referred to as a “rim-hanger” assembly, treated the flush water flowing from the rim of the toilet bowl only during the flush cycle. Since a rim-hanger assembly treated the flush water only during the short time of the flush cycle, it was generally ineffective in providing the treatment level provided by a tank-hanger assembly. As noted earlier, in a tank-hanger assembly a dispersible water-treatment concentrate, such as a hypochlorite tablet or puck, could be placed in continuous contact with the flush water stored in the toilet tank. No rim-hangers can currently claim sanitization or superior cleaning to tank-hanger dispersed hypochlorite tablets.
Further, attempts were made in the prior art to include air-treatment concentrates with the water-treatment concentrates contained in both tank-hanger and rim-hanger prior art assemblies. However, the approach of including air-treatment concentrates within the water-treatment concentrates proved an ineffective means to achieve air freshening of the ambient bathroom air surrounding a toilet fixture. In the case of tank-hangers, air-treatment concentrate, which diffused into the headspace above the toilet tank fill-level, did not have an effective exit point from the enclosed toilet tank to enter the ambient air. In the case of rim-hangers, the periodic dosing of the ambient air only during the flush cycle of the toilet proved ineffective in providing continuous air freshening of the general bathroom air. Rim-hangers had the additional disadvantage of being unsightly and, after the recommended four to six weeks of continuous use, becoming germ laden.
Accordingly, what is needed is a simple, easy-to-use device that provides, in combination, effective toilet flush water-treatment and that further provides effective continuous treatment of the ambient bathroom air surrounding the toilet fixture.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, in one embodiment, a multi-function toilet device provides, in combination, an air-treatment concentrate for treating the ambient air surrounding the toilet, and a water-treatment concentrate for treating the toilet flush water. The air-treatment concentrate is positioned adjacent the exterior of the toilet tank and the water-treatment concentrate is positioned adjacent the interior of the toilet tank.
The multi-function toilet device comprises the air-treatment concentrate, the water-treatment concentrate, and a connector; wherein the air-treatment and water-treatment concentrates are coupled to the connector. The connector of the multi-function toilet device includes an air-treatment end portion and a water-treatment end portion opposite the air-treatment end portion. The air-treatment concentrate is coupled to the air-treatment end portion of the connector and treats the ambient air surrounding the toilet. The water-treatment concentrate is coupled to the water-treatment end portion of the connector and treats the toilet flush water. The connector is configured to position the air-treatment concentrate adjacent an exterior surface of the toilet tank and to position the water-treatment concentrate adjacent an interior surface of the toilet tank. The air-treatment concentrate and water-treatment concentrate can be placed at any point along the connector so long as both are not coupled at the same end portion.
To use the multi-function toilet device, the tank lid of the toilet is removed, the connector is placed over the lip of the toilet tank to position the air-treatment concentrate adjacent the exterior surface of the toilet tank and to position the water-treatment concentrate adjacent the interior surface of the toilet tank. In one embodiment, the water-treatment concentrate is positioned at least partially below the fill-level of the toilet tank. After placement of the connector and positioning of the air-treatment and water-treatment concentrates, the tank lid is replaced on the toilet tank over the connector.
In one embodiment, the multi-function toilet device of the present invention further includes an air-treatment housing coupled to the air-treatment end portion of the connector and a water-treatment housing coupled to the water-treatment end portion of the connector, opposite the air-treatment end portion of the connector. Disposed within the air-treatment housing is the air-treatment concentrate and disposed within the water-treatment housing is the water-treatment concentrate.
The air-treatment housing can include a heating element or a fan coupled to the multi-function toilet device to enhance diffusion of the air-treatment concentrate. The water-treatment housing can be an active device, which provides pumping or siphoning of an aliquot of water-treatment concentrate pre-mixed with toilet tank water. Alternatively, the water-treatment housing can be a passive device, which merely contains and positions the water-treatment concentrate at least partially below the toilet tank fill-level to passively disperse into the tank water.
The air and water-treatment housings can be adjustably coupled to the connector to allow suitable positioning of the housings upon installation of the multi-function toilet device of the present invention. In one embodiment, the air and water-treatment housings are slideably adjustable along the connector.
The connector can take alternate shapes. In one embodiment, the connector is a planer ribbon configured generally as a rigid inverted “J” shaped bracket. The inverted “J” has a “top” intermediate the two unequal length “legs” that makeup the air-treatment and water-treatment end portions of the connector such that the top contacts the lip of the toilet tank and the legs hang adjacent the interior and exterior of the toilet tank to suitably position the air-treatment concentrate and water-treatment concentrate, respectively. In another embodiment, the connector is generally shaped in the form of an inverted “U”, having the air-treatment end portion and the water-treatment end portion of equal length. Various other configurations of the connector are possible and would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the connector may be simply shaped as an inverted “L” having only one end portion.
In yet another embodiment, the connector is a planar ribbon having living hinges, well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and adapted to allow folding of the connector into, for example, the inverted “J”, “U”, or “L” configurations described and to allow adjustment of the air-treatment and water-treatment housings for suitable positioning at installation of the multi-function toilet device. In one embodiment, the connector is simply a bendable wire, band, ribbon, or tube configurable as described above to accommodate placement on the toilet tank and positioning of the air-treatment and water-treatment housings adjacent the toilet tank interior surface and exterior surface, respectively. For these embodiments, the multi-function toilet device may be conveniently packaged in a flat folded configuration and bent to a suitable configuration before use.
In yet another embodiment, the connector is not placed over the tank lip but is rather attached to the removable toilet tank lid such that the air-treatment concentrate is positioned adjacent the exterior surface of the tank and the water-treatment concentrate is positioned adjacent the interior surface of the tank when the toilet tank lid is replaced.
The connector, air-treatment and water-treatment housings of the multi-function toilet device of the present invention can be made of any suitable material. Exemplary materials include but are not limited to metal, and metal composites, ceramics, polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polymer composites, and other engineered plastics that may be formed with a variety of fabrication technologies, such as, for example, thermoforming or blowmolding.
The multi-function toilet device can be disposed after depletion of the water-treatment and air-treatment concentrates or can be refillable with the concentrates. Further, the device of the present invention can include one or more indicia that alert the user that the air or water-treatment concentrates are depleted.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of embodiments below, when considered together with the attached drawings and claims.
The foregoing aspects and others will be readily appreciated by the skilled artisan from the following description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
For clarity of presentation,
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the context of a multi-function toilet tank device placed on a toilet fixture having a toilet tank, a removable tank lid covering the toilet tank, and a toilet bowl having a bowl rim. The skilled artisan will readily appreciate, however, that the materials and methods disclosed herein will have application in a number of other contexts where diffusion of an air-treatment concentrate to the ambient air and dissolution or dispersal of a water-treatment concentrate into a liquid storage tank is desirable, particularly where ease of use is important.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the multi-function toilet device of the present invention which includes a connector with an air-treatment end portion and a water-treatment end portion opposite the air-treatment end portion; an air-treatment concentrate coupled to the air-treatment end portion of the connector; and a water-treatment concentrate coupled to the water-treatment end portion of the connector. The connector is configured to position the air-treatment concentrate adjacent an exterior surface of the toilet tank and to position the water-treatment concentrate adjacent an interior surface of the toilet tank at least partially below the fill-level of the toilet tank.
In use the tank lid of the toilet is removed, the connector is placed over the lip of the tank to position the air-treatment concentrate adjacent the exterior surface of the tank and to position the water-treatment concentrate adjacent the interior surface of the tank below the fill-level of the tank.
More particularly,
In one embodiment, coupled to air-treatment end portion 106 is an air-treatment housing 110 that defines an air-treatment housing interior space 112 (
Air-treatment concentrate 114 can be any air-diffusible compound formulated to freshen or otherwise treat ambient air. Examples of suitable compounds include, but are not limited to, perfumes, fragrances, botanicals, volatile organic compounds, and combinations thereof. Air-treatment concentrate 114 can be in the form of a liquid, solid, semi-solid, impregnated nonwoven substrate, impregnated cellulosic substrate, impregnated solid or other forms suitable for use in air-treatment applications.
Likewise, water-treatment concentrate 120 can be any water-dispersible compound formulated to treat toilet flush water. Examples of suitable compounds include, but are not limited to, bleaches, surfactants, disinfectants, inorganic compounds, chelators, optical brighteners, and mixtures thereof. Further, water-treatment concentrate 120 can be formulated to include components, such as polymers, that protect or modify toilet bowl interior surfaces, or components that protect or treat toilet valve parts. Water-treatment concentrate 120 can be in the form of a liquid, solid, semi-solid, impregnated nonwoven substrate, impregnated cellulosic substrate, impregnated solid or in other forms suitable for use in water-treatment applications.
In one embodiment, connector 104 is rigidly configured as an inverted “J” with air-treatment end portion 106 and water-treatment end portion 108 making up the two unequal length legs the inverted “J” shape of connector 104. An intermediate portion 122 between air-treatment end portion 106 and water-treatment end portion 108 makes up the “top” of the inverted “J” shape of connector 104. In use, air-treatment concentrate 114 is placed in air-treatment housing interior space 112 of air-treatment housing 110 and water-treatment concentrate 120 is placed in water-treatment housing interior space 118 of water-treatment housing 116. Intermediate portion 122 of the inverted “J” shaped connector 104 is then placed on a toilet tank lip 124 of toilet tank 102. Connector 104 is adapted to position water-treatment concentrate 120 adjacent to a tank interior surface 125 of toilet tank 102 (
In another embodiment, water-treatment housing 116 can be of the active pumping or dosing type, well known to those of skill in the art. Dosing type water-treatment housings 116 provide an aliquot of water-treatment concentrate 120, formed from water-treatment concentrate 120 dissolved or dispersed in tank water contained in a dosing reservoir (not shown) that may be fluidicly isolated from toilet tank 102 during the quiescent period between toilet flushes. Further, the diffusion of air-treatment concentrate 114 from air-treatment housing interior space 112 can be enhanced by, for example, supplying battery or plug-in electrical furnished heat, forced air, or an ultrasonic energy source to air-treatment concentrate 114. As noted above, in yet another embodiment, either air-treatment housing 110, water-treatment housing 116, or both, are eliminated and air-treatment concentrate 114 and water-treatment concentrate 120 are directly coupled, respectively, to air-treatment end portion 106 and water-treatment end portion 108. In this embodiment, at least a portion of water-treatment concentrate 120 contacts the water in toilet tank 102 whenever toilet tank 102 is filled to fill-level 126.
Air-treatment housing 110 includes one or more air-treatment housing apertures 128 that open air-treatment housing 110 to the ambient air adjacent tank exterior surface 134 of toilet tank 102 (
In the embodiment shown in
Those of skill in the art will recognize that other shaped connectors 104 can be adapted to position air-treatment housing 110 and water-treatment housing 116 as described above adjacent tank interior surface 125 and adjacent tank exterior surface 134, respectively.
In another embodiment, at least one additional hinge 140 (
Further, connector 104 can be adapted to attach directly to toilet tank lid 105 by any suitable attachment means well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In another embodiment, connector 104 can be placed over toilet bowl rim 109 of toilet bowl 107. Attachment means suitable for attaching connector 104 to the various toilet parts describe included, but are not limited to, friction, gravity, adhesives and fasteners.
In one aspect of the present invention, connector 104, air-treatment housing 110, and water-treatment housing 116 can be integrally formed or can be formed separately for assembly by a consumer before use. Connector 104, air-treatment housing 110, and water-treatment housing 116 can be made of any suitable material, including but not limited to, metal, metal composites, ceramics, polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polymer composites, and other engineered plastics that may be formed with a variety of fabrication technologies, such as, for example, thermoforming or blowmolding.
In another aspect of the present invention, multi-function toilet device 100 is disposable, having a non-refillable supply of air-treatment concentrate 114 and water-treatment concentrate 120 originally placed in air-treatment housing 110 and water-treatment housing 116, respectively. Alternatively, multi-function toilet device 100 can be refillable with air-treatment concentrate 114 in air-treatment housing 110 and water-treatment concentrate 120 in water-treatment housing 116. For example, as shown in
In another aspect of the present invention, at least one indicia is utilized to alert a user of multi-function toilet device 100 that the supply of air-treatment concentrate 114 and/or the supply of water-treatment concentrate 120 is depleted and multi-function toilet device 100 is ready for replacement, (e.g., in the case of disposable multi-function toilet devices 100), or is ready for refill of air-treatment concentrate 114 and/or water-treatment concentrate 120, (e.g., in the case of refillable multi-function toilet devices 100). Suitable indicia include, but are not limited to, color change of layered, differently-colored consumables near depletion, exposure of indicia, such as, “Replace Now” wording on air-treatment housing 110 behind shrinking or thinning air-treatment concentrate 114 or on water-treatment housing 116 behind water-treatment concentrate 120, and loss of color in flush water due to depletion of pre-colored water-treatment concentrate 120. In another embodiment, wicking of tank water in porous channel or layer (not shown) on connector 104, which opens up near depletion of water-treatment concentrate 120, reaches outside toilet tank 102 to provide a visual cue that water-treatment concentrate 120 is depleted. In another embodiment, air-treatment housing 110 and water-treatment housing 116 are constructed of transparent or translucent material such that remaining air-treatment concentrate 114 and water-treatment concentrate 120 are directly viewable.
This invention has been described herein in considerable detail to provide those skilled in the art with information relevant to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by different equipment, materials and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.
