Patent Application
20250237049
The present subject matter is directed to an effective clogging prevention system for toilets.
A typical flush toilet is a fixed, vitreous ceramic bowl (also known as a pan) which is connected to a drain. After use, the bowl is “flushed,” meaning it is emptied and cleaned by a predetermined rapid rate of flow of water into the bowl. Such a flush may flow from a dedicated tank (or cistern), a high-pressure water pipe controlled by a flush valve, or by manually pouring water into the bowl. Tanks and valves are normally operated by a user, by pressing a button, or pushing down on a handle, pulling a lever, or pulling a chain. The flush water is directed within the bowl by a molded flushing rim around the top of a bowl or by one or more jets, so that the entire internal surface of the bowl is rinsed with water.
A typical toilet has a tank fixed above the bowl. The tank is adapted and configured to contain a fixed volume of water, and two devices. The first device allows part of the contents of the tank, usually in the 3-6 liter (¾ to 1 and ½ gallon) range to be discharged rapidly into the toilet bowl, causing the bowl contents to be swept or drawn out of the toilet and down the toilet outlet drain, whenever the user “flushes” the toilet. The second device automatically allows water to enter the tank until the water level is appropriate for a flush.
The water may be discharged through a “toilet flapper valve” (not to be confused with a type of check valve), or through a siphon. A float usually controls the refilling device.
As many members of the public have experienced, conventional toilets often do not always “flush” in a manner as outlined above. For instance, a mass of human waste (or “stool”) may be too bulky or too hardpacked to smoothly pass through a drain after the toilet has been flushed. In addition, human waste material that is too bulky or too hard-packed has been known to clog many toilets and may also further cause messy overflow.
As can be appreciated, there is a need for an effective toilet clogging prevention system.
It can also be appreciated that an effective toilet unclogging system be available for use whenever needed. A simple-to-use solution to the problem noted is also desirable.
A toilet bowl accessory shall now be summarized. The toilet includes a bowl which can occasionally become clogged with human waste. The toilet also includes a tank sized to contain a predetermined amount of water and configured to be located above the bowl to allow water to flow into the bowl, by gravity, when the toilet is “flushed” which normally causes waste in the bowl to pass from the bowl through an outlet drain.
The tank has an exterior surface. The toilet bowl accessory comprises a toilet bowl article and a hook. The toilet bowl article comprises an elongated shaft having opposite end portions, a handle unitary with one of the opposite end portions, and a blade unitary with the other shaft end portion. In certain embodiments, the blade is sized and shaped like a spatula—an implement having a broad, flat, flexible lateral extension-which can be used, when rotated about an axis, to break-up and blend a mass of material.
The hook is secured to the exterior surface of the tank. The handle has an aperture sized and configured for hanging the toilet bowl article from the hook until use is desired.
Throughout the drawing figures and detailed description which follows, I shall use similar reference numerals, to refer to similar components of the present subject matter.
An illustrated embodiment (
The toilet-bowl accessory of the present subject matter is designed to be used by people to prevent a toilet bowl being clogged by a bulky, packed mass of human waste.
A toilet 11 (
Toilet bowl article 10 comprises an elongated shaft 14 having opposite end portions 14a and 14b; a handle 12 unitary with one of the opposite end portions 14a; and a blade 16 unitary with the other opposite end portion 14b. In certain embodiments, hook 20 is removably secured to the exterior surface 21 by suction. In other embodiments, hook 20 is removably adhesively secured to the exterior surface 21 on the backside 19 of tank 15.
Removable adhesives suitable for purposes of the present subject matter are formulated from commercially available materials having properties that enable the hook 20 to be removably adhesively secured to the exterior surface 21 on the backside 19 of tank 15 until a person wants to remove the hook 20 from the backside 19 of the tank 15.
Examples of currently available removable adhesives suitable for purposes of the present subject matter include wood glue and elastomeric- and silicone-based adhesives.
The handle 12 defines an aperture 18 (
Shaft 14 includes a central rib 23 centered on a vertically oriented center of blade 16 (
In operation, a person wanting to prevent a toilet bowl 13 from being clogged by a bulky, packed mass of human waste material simply removes the toilet bowl article 10 from the hook 20 (
The components of my toilet bowl accessory can be manufactured, e.g., by known injection-molding procedures. The toilet bowl article can also be commercially made to be sized and configured to be used by most adults for the purposes noted above.
Described in this patent specification is a toilet bowl accessory. While the present subject matter has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, the present subject matter is not limited to the exemplary embodiment. On the contrary, alternatives, changes, and/or modifications shall become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art (“POSITA”) after this specification is read and its figures reviewed. Thus, all alternatives, changes, and modifications are to be treated as forming a part of the present subject matter insofar as they fall within the spirit and the scope of the appended claims.
