Hundreds of thousands of people experience diarrhea/loose stools every day in the United States alone. Some have a temporary problem that only happens occasionally. Some have life-long, continual, daily afflictions which may be caused by a condition or disease such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, or malabsorption, to name but a few.
One of the negative consequences associated with this is that it creates an undesirable toilet cleaning problem due to splatter of the loose stool in regions of a toilet that are not easily washed away when the toilet is flushed. For example, liquified feces of the loose stool may spray with force in multiple directions and may also splash/rebound upward from the water in the bowl or from the bowl itself to foul the undersurface of the porcelain toilet rim, the underside of the toilet seat, and can end up traveling even higher on the toilet and in hard-to-reach places. In such instances, much of the sprayed and splattered feces remains in these locations after flushing the toilet.
People thusly afflicted can be embarrassed while at work or in another person's home by having to clean up after themselves which takes time and may be hard to accomplish. Moreover, much of this spraying/splattering of feces occurs in care situations where the person causing it is not the person who is involved with the cleaning of it afterward.
People who have diarrhea/loose stool issues often use a toilet more than once a day. This means that these disgusting cleaning burdens may occur many hundreds of thousands or millions of times a day in the United States alone.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the Description of Embodiments, illustrate various embodiments of the subject matter and, together with the Description of Embodiments, serve to explain principles of the subject matter discussed below.
Unless specifically noted, the drawings referred to in this Brief Description of Drawings should be understood as not being drawn to scale. Herein, like items are labeled with like item numbers.
Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While various embodiments are discussed herein, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit to these embodiments. On the contrary, the presented embodiments are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope the various embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in this Description of Embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present subject matter. However, embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the described embodiments.
As previously described, people who have chronic diarrhea/loose stools use a toilet more than once a day and create a cleaning problem due to un-flushable fecal splatter in the toilet bowl and other regions of the toilet.
Toilet Shields are not designed to eliminate all immediate cleaning but rather to decrease it substantially and to limit cleaning to areas that are easily reached with a toilet brush requiring little effort. The toilet shield described herein serves to solve or minimize this cleaning problem by reducing and/or preventing splatter of feces. Toilet shields described herein are designed to accomplish protection of a toilet from becoming fouled by liquid and/or splattering feces while using an economy of flushable paper or other flushable material to avoid becoming a burden on septic systems and waste treatment plants. For example, in a flushable paper embodiment, each single use toilet shield is made of an amount of flushable paper which may be equal to as little as several sheets of toilet paper.
The extensive amount of cleaning required in these situations where a toilet is fouled with fecal splatter when there is no toilet shield requires much more paper to be used (than would be contained in a toilet shield made of flushable paper). Additionally, the cleaning of a toilet fouled in the absence of a toilet shield may also result in the use of paper (e.g., paper towels) that is not designed to be flushable, thus creating a burden on septic systems and waste treatment plants if it is flushed.
Herein some example toilet shields, example toilet shielding systems, and example methods of use are described. Generally, the toilet shields supply one or more substantially vertical surfaces suspended within the bowl of a toilet such that the substantially vertical surfaces intercept the stream/splatter of diarrheal feces before they impact with the hard surface of the toilet bowl or the hard surface of the water in the bowl. This interception prevents or reduces the amount of splatter off of the bowl or the water. In situations where a stream of diarrheal feces is predominately directed downward and/or downward/reward toward the rear of a toilet bowl, the substantially vertical surfaces of the toilet shield intercept the stream and reduce/eliminate splatter. This reduces splatter near the rear of the toilet bowl, under the rim of the toilet bowl, and splatter that lands above where the flushing water can reach it such as on the inside rim and seat of the toilet bowl.
Further, in some embodiments, the design of the toilet shield 100 allows for a raised collar 150 to rise above the horizontal arms 120 in the rear of the toilet shield only. In some instances, liquid feces under pressure of expulsion from the human body tends to spray toward the rear of the toilet more than toward the front. The raised collar 150 improves the interface between the defecating person and the shield 100 in order to catch/deflect more liquid feces in such situations.
In some embodiments, on either side of the raised rear collar 150 there is a vertical pleat 112 (112A, 112B). The purpose of this pleat 112 is to discourage tearing of the arm 120 at these attachment sites, to allow for better raising of the collar 150, to increase the extension of the substantially vertical portion of the toilet shield 100 without adding much more paper/flushable material, and to improve the interface between the defecating person and the toilet shield 100 by decreasing the distance between the two.
Toilet shields 100 may be provided in a dispenser which holds multiple toilet shields 100, may be provided in packages with several toilet shields 100, or may be provided in packages with a single toilet shield 100.
Further, in some embodiments, the design of the toilet shield 200 allows for a raised collar (not depicted, but similar to raised collar 150 of
Toilet shields 200 may be provided in a dispenser which holds multiple toilet shields 100, may be provided in packages with several toilet shields 200, or may be provided in packages with a single toilet shield 200.
As previously discussed, toilet shields 100 and 200 are made of flushable paper or other water soluble/dissolvable and flushable material such as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) film. By “flushable” what is meant is that material from which the toilet shield 100/200 is formed is safe to flush down a toilet in a similar fashion to toilet paper, without risk of clogging plumbing or causing harm to a wastewater treatment plant. Such material which is safe to flush in this manner is referred to as “flushable material.” The toilet shield 100/200 comprises a vertical tube 110, gutter 210, or curtain, which is open on one or both ends, and arms 120/220 on disposed on the edges of an open end. One or more of tube 110, gutter 210, or curtain and the arms 120/220 may be composed of flushable material, in some embodiments. The tube 110, gutter 210, or curtain may be composed of a different flushable material than the arms 120/220, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, certain portions such as seams, pleats 112, fold lines, adjustment holes 121/221 or potential weak spots may be coated with a biodegradable and/or flushable overspray. The overspray may add structural integrity to fail points. The overspray may provide other advantages such providing a pleasant scent and/or adding a measured amount of water resistance (i.e., slowing the dissolvability) of a portion of the toilet shield 100/200.
In various embodiments, the substantially vertical sides of the toilet shield 100/200 may be smooth or faceted. The end of the toilet shield which is configured with arms 120/220 is the top end of the toilet shield 100/200 when in use. The toilet shield 100/200 may be stored in a flattened state prior to use, and the lumen 111, channel 211, or curtain opened/deployed for use by extending the arms 120/220 away from each other in directions which are generally orthogonal to the direction in which the toilet shield 100/200 extends into the bowl of the toilet. In some embodiments the toilet shield 100/200 may be folded and packaged so that it may be easily transported by a person, such as in a purse, wallet, or pocket. In other embodiments, a plurality of toilet shields 100/200 may be packaged together.
In some embodiments, the design of the toilet shield 100/200 with regard to the attachment of the horizontal arms 120/220 to the substantially vertical portion (e.g., the tube 110 or gutter 210) allows for the lumen 111, channel 211, or curtain of the toilet shield 100/200 to open/deploy when the arms 120/220 are pulled away from each other in generally opposite directions.
These brackets 300 snap into place by virtue of their elastomeric quality. In some embodiments, the brackets include a lip which secures to the underside of the rim of the toilet. On the outward side of the toilet, on the outward facing lateral sides, each bracket 300 has a hook 310 extending outward, away from the toilet with the end of the hook 310 pointing downward so that the hook 310 is open on the bottom. These brackets 300 can be left in place for months or can be placed for one time use and then removed.
In some embodiments, a toilet shielding system is comprised of a toilet shield (one embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, first the toilet seat 520 is lifted (if not already lifted) and two plastic brackets 300-1 and 300-2 are attached onto the rim 415 of the toilet bowl 410, one on either side, across from each other, when looking down at the toilet at 2:30 and 9:30 on the clockface. An example of this is illustrated in
To prepare the toilet shield 100/200 for use, the opposing arms 120/220 are extended outward, with the distal tips of the arms extended generally away from each other. An example of this is shown in
In some embodiments, attaching the ends of the arms 120/220 to the hooks 310 on the plastic brackets 300 causes the toilet shield 100/200 to become suspended from the brackets 300 like a hammock between two trees (see for example
The toilet seat 520 is closed/lowered and the toilet shield 100/200 is ready for use. An example of this is illustrated in
In other embodiments, other fastening/suspension means may be employed. For example, in addition to or in alternative to the use of the bracket 300 and hook 310 on opposite sides of the toilet bowl 410, an adhesive may be employed between the rim 415 of the toilet bowl 410 and the arms 120/220 of the toilet shield 100/200. In some embodiments, for example, an adhesive strip is incorporated on the arms 120/220 of the toilet shield 100/200 during manufacturing.
In use, the toilet shield 100/200 collects liquid/splattered feces that does not drop vertically preventing it from fouling the toilet. The toilet shield 100/200 also slows the descent of feces that may be falling or spewing under pressure. When falling feces hits the water 601 some splashes upward and is big source of cleaning problems. The toilet shield 100/200 discourages this splashing upward by lessening the amount of feces that hits the water 601 directly and by slowing the descent of feces that does hit the water 601. The toilet shield also catches feces that are splashing upward from the water 601 impeding and/or preventing the splashed feces from reaching and fouling the toilet.
Once the toilet shield 100/200 is used the person using it (or a care giver) can simply release the arms 120/220 from the toilet bowl 410. For example, in some embodiments, this involves releasing the toilet shield 100/200 from hooks 310 on the outside of the toilet bowl 410, one on either side, by lifting the arms 100/200 off the hooks 310. This may accomplished without changing position, with the toilet seat 520 down and without coming in contact with anything untoward.
Once released, the weight of the feces and/or water 601 in the toilet bowl 410 pulls the toilet shield 100/200 into the water or the swirling motion of the flushed water 601 pulls it in the toilet bowl 410, and it is flushed away.
The toilet shield 100/200 can also be used without mounting brackets 300 or other attachment means by placing the arms 120/220 on top of the toilet seat 520 and holding it in place by the weight of the user. For example, a toilet seat 520 may be lowered onto the rim 415 of a toilet bowl 410. A toilet shield 100/200 is expanded by pulling its arms 120/220 in generally opposite directions. The arms 120/220 may be draped over the lowered toilet seat 520 at locations which are in the vicinity of 2:30 and 9:30 on the face of a clock (if the rear of the toilet seat is considered 12:00), and after positioning the toilet shield 100/200 at the desired elevation within the bowl 410 the excess length of the arms 120/220 is then tucked under the toilet seat 520 (e.g., between the toilet seat 520 and the rim 415). The user then sits on the toilet seat and the arms 120/220 which are exposed on the top surface of the seat 520 while defecating. After defecating, the user would exit the toilet 405 at least slightly to release the toilet shield 100/200, and then flush the toilet 405 to flush the toilet shield 100/200 in to the sewer/septic system to which the toilet 405 is coupled.
The examples set forth herein were presented in order to best explain, to describe particular applications, and to thereby enable those skilled in the art to make and use embodiments of the described examples. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
In accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of what has been disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Reference throughout this document to “one embodiment,” “certain embodiments,” “an embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “some embodiments,” or similar term means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of such phrases in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any embodiment may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other features, structures, or characteristics of one or more other embodiments without limitation.
This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to and benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/147,813, now issued patent TBD, filed on Dec. 29, 2022, entitled “Toilet Shield” by James Kramer, having Attorney Docket No. TRICK-003-CON1, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/147,813 is a continuation application of and claims priority to and benefit of then co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/335,190, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 11,596,280, filed on Jun. 1, 2021, entitled “Toilet Shield” by James Kramer, having Attorney Docket No. TRICK-003, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/335,190 claimed priority to and benefit of the then co-pending provisional patent application, Ser. No. 63/033,326, Attorney Docket Number TRICK-003-PR, entitled “Toilet Shield,” by James Kramer, with filing date Jun. 2, 2020, which was incorporated by reference therein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63033326 | Jun 2020 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 18147813 | Dec 2022 | US |
Child | 18444223 | US | |
Parent | 17335190 | Jun 2021 | US |
Child | 18147813 | US |