Patent Grant
7721358
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to single-function and 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. Additionally, what is needed is a simple device that fragrances the air around a toilet when it is most needed, to coincide with the flushing of the toilet.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, in one embodiment, a device comprises a water treatment part for mounting inside a toilet tank; an air moving part for mounting inside a toilet tank; an air treatment part in communication with the air moving part; and a bellows formed from an interior of the air moving part, wherein air displaced from the bellows moves through the air treatment part; and wherein the air treatment part is configured to provide a fast and high volume of fragrance during the flush cycle.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a multi-function toilet device comprises an air moving part for mounting inside a toilet tank; a water treatment part containing a water treatment concentrate for mounting inside a toilet tank; an air treatment part in communication with the air moving part; a bellows formed from an interior of the air moving part; a one-way valve connecting the air moving part and the air treatment part; effective spacing of fragrance particulate layers; and/or a reduced headspace above the fragrance particulate layer or layers.
To use the multi-function toilet device of the present invention, the tank lid of the toilet is removed, the connector/or hangers may be placed over the lip of the toilet tank to position the air-treatment concentrate of the air-treatment part 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 air-treatment concentrate may be located adjacent the interior surface of the toilet tank, above the fill-level of the toilet tank, with a vent communicating the air-treatment concentrate to the exterior of the toilet tank. In one embodiment, the water-treatment concentrate may be positioned fully or partially below the fill-level of the toilet tank. After placement of the connector or hangers and positioning of the air-treatment and water-treatment concentrates, the tank lid is replaced on the toilet tank over the connector or hangers. The water-treatment part may have a bellows located inside the toilet tank so that the water level inside the toilet tank immediately after flush is below the bellows and the water level inside the toilet tank at the filled level covers at least a portion of the bellows.
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. As described in the various embodiments below, the water-treatment housing may form the bellows, may be a separate entity from the bellows, may be nested in the bellows or may be formed integrally with the bellows. 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 a 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, there may be two hanging parts with a water-treatment end portion nested inside the air-treatment portion. 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 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), polyethylene (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. Alternatively, the air-treatment housing may be made at least partially of water treatment material which may dissolve away as it treats the water. The air-treatment housing may be designed to dissolve away at such a time when it may be desirable to replace user serviceable components, such as the air treatment portion.
The multi-function toilet device of the present invention 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:
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 may be 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 may be 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. As discussed in greater detail below, the connector may form an air passage between the air-treatment portion and a bellows section of the water treatment portion.
In use the tank lid of the toilet may be removed, and the connector may be 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,
Referring now to
The water treatment side 34 may contain a water treatment concentrate 38. In one embodiment of the present invention, the water treatment concentrate 38 may be disposed at a lower end 40 of the water treatment side 34 such that the water treatment concentrate 38 is below the water line 32 (see
In one embodiment of the present invention, a portion of a space 38a above the water treatment concentrate 38 may be sealed off from water until such time when the water treatment concentrate 38 needs replacement. This portion of space may be, for example, a tube 34c running from the water treatment concentrate 38 inside the water treatment side 36 of the multi-function toilet device 12. When the water treatment concentrate 38 is used to a point where replacement is needed, water from the toilet tank 14 may enter the tube 34c. A wick 34b may be present in the tube 34a, below the water line 32 of the toilet tank 14. The wick 34b may be disposed from inside to tube 34c to the outside of the toilet tank 14 such that the wick is at least partially disposed at the exterior of the toilet tank. The wick 34b may change color when wet to indicate to the consumer that the water treatment concentrate is in need of replacement. Color change of the wick 34b is one example of replacement time indication. The present invention may include alternate replacement time indication methods, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. For example, the wick 34b, when wet, may activate a switch that turns on a light, such as an LED (not shown) on the outside of the toilet tank 14. In another embodiment, the portion of a space 38a above the water treatment concentrate 38 is not sealed off and the wick 34b measures a property of the water surrounding the dissolving water treatment concentrate 38, such as pH or bleach concentration. When the water treatment concentrate is substantially or fully dissolved, the wick 34b signals a change in the water properties via a method such as color of light.
The water treatment concentrate 38 may 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. Furthermore, the water treatment concentrate 38 may 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. The water treatment concentrate 38 may 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.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The air treatment concentrate (not shown) may be any conventional air treatment concentrate, as described above. In one embodiment of the present invention, the air treatment concentrate may change color as the fragrance is dispensed, thereby providing the consumer an indicator when the air treatment concentrate may need to be changed. It may be useful for the fragrance to be used up at approximately the same rate as the water treatment concentrate 38 is used up, thereby indicating to the consumer that both the air treatment concentrate and the water treatment concentrate 38 need to be replaced. Alternatively, the air treatment portion 24 may be formed of a material that changes color over time, thereby indicating to the consumer when replacement of the user replaceable components (e.g., the air and water treatment concentrates) may be necessary. Conventional color change technology may be employed in the air treatment portion 24 and/or the air treatment concentrate. For example, the color change technology described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,827 and 6,254,969, herein incorporated by reference, may be useful in the present invention.
The present invention may include a bellows 56 that has a differential cross-sectional area when comparing the upper end 48 with the lower end 42. As shown in
Alternatively, referring to
An additional benefit to the design of
Referring now to
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Referring to
A lower end 80 of the air moving part 76 may have a length L1 that is longer than a length L2 of an upper end 82 of the air moving part. This design may result in a differential cross-sectional area between the lower end 80 and the upper end 82. Such a differential cross-sectional area may impart benefits similar to those discussed above with respect to the graphs of
While
Referring now to
While the above embodiments described particular embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments should not be taken in a limited sense. Modifications within the skill of those in the art are included in the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, certain other features and designs may be included in the present invention, including those shown in
Referring to
The air treatment side 132 may be designed to dissolve away at such a rate whereby dissolution may occur when it is desirable to replace the air treatment portion and/or the water treatment portion. In this embodiment of the present invention, the air treatment side 132 need not have a differential cross-sectional area along its depth D. The air treatment side 132 may have a substantially uniform cross-sectional area along its depth D, as shown, or the air treatment side 132 may have a differential cross-sectional area along its depth D, for example, as shown in
Referring to
The fan 94 may be powered by a power supply (not shown), such as a battery, or the fan 94 may be driven by the air flow caused by water displacing air in the air moving part 100 during the flush cycle. In either case, the fan may provide improved fragrance delivery as well as a cue for the consumer of the operation of the multi-function toilet device 92.
Referring to
Referring to
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Referring to
Referring to
Based on these results, it might be expected that increasing the headspace would be an advantage. However, air treatment portions of the toilet device were tested with varying headspace sizes. When the headspace 140 was about 1 inch, the air treatment portion delivered 1.07 times as much fragrance as when the headspace 140 was about 2 inches. When the headspace 140 was about 0 inches, the air treatment portion delivered 1.39 times as much fragrance as when the headspace 140 was about 2 inches. This shows that it may be advantageous to have about 1 inch or less of headspace or to have less than 1 inch of headspace or to have about 0 inches of headspace.
Referring to
This invention has been described herein in 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.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090064401 A1 | Mar 2009 | US |
