Sink Disposer Splash Guard

Abstract

A splash guard is adapted to be removably mounted in a neck portion of a sink disposer. The splash guard basically comprises a generally cylindrical sleeve which is sized to slidably fit into the neck portion of the disposer and defines a central bore; an upper ledge partially obstructing an upper portion of the central bore; a central ledge partially obstructing a medial portion of the central bore in opposition to the upper ledge; and a chute extending downwardly from a portion of the sleeve opposite the central ledge and terminating below said central ledge.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to sinks equipped with food disposers and more particularly to protective devices therefor.

The present inventor was struck by a number of drawbacks to conventional sink disposers. First, dining utensils could fall into the grinding chamber. Also, they were not equipped to prevent a young child from inserting a hand into the disposer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A splash guard is adapted to be removably mounted in a neck portion of a sink disposer. The splash guard basically comprises a generally cylindrical sleeve sized to slidably fit into the neck portion of the disposer and defining a central bore, an upper ledge affixed to a portion of the sleeve and partially obstructing the central bore, a central ledge opposite the upper ledge affixed to a portion of the sleeve and partially obstructing the central bore, and a chute extending from a portion of the sleeve opposite the central ledge and terminating below the ledge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the splash guard;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of splash guard of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of the splash guard of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, a splash guard generally designated 400 is adapted to be removably mounted in a neck portion 419 of a sink disposer 410. The splash guard basically comprises: a generally cylindrical sleeve 401 which is sized to slidably fit into the neck 419 of the disposer and defines a central bore 402; an upper ledge 443 partially obstructing an upper portion of the central bore 402; a central ledge 441 partially obstructing a medial portion of the central bore in opposition to the upper ledge; and a chute 444 extending downwardly from a portion of the sleeve opposite the central ledge 441 and terminating below said central ledge. The splash guard is designed to prevent debris and water from splashing out of the neck of the disposer and to prevent utensils 442 from entering the disposer's grinding chamber. The utensils are blocked from doing so by the geometry of the upper ledge 443, the opposite, centrally located ledge 441 and by the end of the chute 444. The geometry of the splash guard 400 also prevents a child's hand from entering the grinding chamber. Removal of the child-safe splash guard is made difficult for a child by the circumferential wedge shaped protrusion 445 on the exterior of the cylindrical sleeve 401. The protrusion 445 slips under an inwardly facing lip 446 created by the lower end of the disposer mounting flange 447 and the inward facing rubber lip of the disposer mounting seal 448. The splash guard may be of any design that facilitates a sturdy fit and is preferably molded from an elastomeric material such as rubber or silicone.

Claims

1-4. (canceled)

5. A splash guard adapted to be removably mounted at least partially within a through opening of a neck portion of a kitchen sink disposer, said splash guard comprising: a generally cylindrical sleeve defining a through bore and sized to slidably fit at least partially within the through opening of the neck portion of the kitchen sink disposer;an upper ledge partially obstructing an upper portion of the through opening;a central ledge operative to constrict a medial portion of the through bore in opposition to the upper ledge; anda vertically arcuate chute extending downwardly from a portion of the sleeve opposite the central ledge and terminating below the central ledge.

6. The splash guard according to claim 5, wherein the upper portion of the through opening overlaps with an open portion of the vertically arcuate chute.

7. The splash guard according to claim 5, wherein an exterior of the cylindrical sleeve is provided with at least one of: (i) a protrusion configured to be received within a groove of the kitchen sink disposer; and,(ii) a groove configured to receive a projection of the kitchen sink disposer.

8. The splash guard according to claim 5, wherein a majority of through opening of the neck portion is not obstructed by the upper ledge.

9. The splash guard according to claim 5, wherein: the vertically arcuate chute at least partially delineates an end of the through bore;the upper ledge at least partially delineates a beginning of the through bore;the beginning of the through bore vertically overlaps at least a portion of the end of the through bore.

10. A splash guard adapted to be removably mounted at least partially within a through opening of a neck portion of a kitchen sink disposer, said splash guard comprising: a sleeve defining a tortuous through bore and sized to fit at least partially within the through opening of the neck portion of the kitchen sink disposer;a top overhang at least partially delineating an upper portion of the tortuous through bore so the upper portion of the tortuous through bore is offset from a vertical center to a first lateral side;a secondary overhang partially delineating an intermediate portion of the tortuous through bore so the intermediate portion of the tortuous through bore is offset from the vertical center to a second lateral side, opposite the first lateral side; anda chute extending vertically beneath the secondary overhang at least partially delineating an opening, at an end of the tortuous through bore, predominantly facing laterally, not vertically.

11. The splash guard according to claim 10, wherein the chute curves below the top overhand and is at least partially overlapped by the top overhand to prevent the passing of a utensil straight through the tortuous through bore.

12. The splash guard according to claim 10, wherein an exterior of the cylindrical sleeve is provided with at least one of: (i) a protrusion configured to be received within a groove of the kitchen sink disposer; and,(ii) a groove configured to receive a projection of the kitchen sink disposer.

13. The splash guard according to claim 10, wherein a majority of through opening of the neck portion is not obstructed by the top overhang.

14. The splash guard according to claim 10, wherein: the top overhang at least partially delineates a beginning of the tortuous through bore;the beginning of the tortuous through bore vertically overlaps at least a portion of the end of the tortuous through bore.

15. The splash guard according to claim 10, wherein the chute embodies a vertically arcuate shape.

16. A garbage disposal assembly comprising: a sink garbage disposal housing;a sink mounting flange configured to be received within a sink drain opening;a garbage disposal mounting flange configured to mount the garbage disposal housing to the sink mounting flange; and,a splash guard comprising: a generally cylindrical sleeve defining a through bore and sized to slidably fit at least partially within the through opening of the neck portion of the kitchen sink disposer;an upper ledge partially obstructing an upper portion of the through opening;a central ledge operative to constrict a medial portion of the through bore in opposition to the upper ledge; anda vertically arcuate chute extending downwardly from a portion of the sleeve opposite the central ledge and terminating below the central ledge.