Patent Application
20230060090
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to the field of sanitary plumbing, and more specifically to the field of sinks and urinal use in public restrooms.
The Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter “EPA”) estimates that urinals use approximately 26,000 gallons of water each year. The EPA standard for commercial urinals is 1 gallon per flush with some older urinals using upwards of five times as much water per flush. Installing and using more efficient urinals are estimated to cause a decrease in gallons per flush by more than half the current rates.
In comparison, the EPA estimates bathroom sinks account for over fifteen percent of indoor water usage within homes and commercial settings. Standard water facets use around 2.2 gallons of water each minute. Currently, the most effective way to decrease water usage from sinks is to ensure that they are turned off when not in use and installing more efficient faucets.
Additionally, a limitation with the prior art is that it promotes the cross contamination of bodily fluids, germs, and bacteria. Even with effective cleaning within public restrooms, the spread of germs within bathrooms is constant and cannot be easily slowed. According to a study performed by BioCote®, the highest level of potential bacteria is harbored on the sinks within public restrooms. The sinks contain the highest number of bacteria because the sink is the last thing in a bathroom that a user touches before cleaning their hands. For example, people using a restroom may contact a multitude of surfaces prior to washing their hands including stall doors, flushing handles, toilet paper dispensers, toilet seats, and their own clothes and person. Typically, people must go to a different area of the bathroom to wash their hands after using the facilities. Therefore, the cross contamination of the germs and bacteria from the toilet area to the sink area where multiple people who used different toilets could be using the same sink. Current prior art attempts to curb the spread of germs by having automatic sensors to flush toilets and engage sink faucets; however, the issue of cross contamination throughout the restroom still persists because people must travel to different areas of a restroom to use the facilities and to wash their hands.
As a result, there exists a need for improvements over the prior art and more particularly for a more effective way to decrease water usage and the spread of germs within restrooms.
A system for a urinal having a sink to minimize water usage in lavatories is disclosed. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.
In one embodiment, a urinal is disclosed. The urinal includes a top end portion and a bottom end portion. A bowl is positioned at the bottom end portion. A rear wall is disposed at rear portion of the bowl to allow water to fall down the rear wall and into the bowl. Additionally, the urinal includes a sink disposed at the top end portion of the urinal. The sink has an opening at a sink bottom end portion and above the rear wall. The sink opening provides fluid opening between the sink opening and the rear wall.
Additional aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed embodiments. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. Below is a brief description of each of the figures.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While disclosed embodiments may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting reordering or adding additional stages or components to the disclosed methods and devices. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosed embodiments. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosed embodiments is defined by the appended claims.
The disclosed embodiments improve upon the problems with the prior art by providing a urinal system that reduces the water consumption attributable to flushing facilities and washing hands. Additionally, the urinal system promotes a more sanitary restroom that inevitably will decrease the amount of germs that are spread within a bathroom by decreasing the cross-contamination of bodily fluids and human interaction. When this disclosure is installed in public restrooms, the functional design of the facility can provide more urinals and sinks for its users because a separate sink area will not be needed. Therefore, overall time spent in the restroom will decrease with respect to waiting for an open urinal and waiting in line to use a sink, specifically in areas of mass public transit, such as airports, and gatherings, such as sporting events. Furthermore, managers of the facilities will experience a decrease in water costs as used by the facilities. These improvements over the prior art will create a more efficient and cleaner experience for people who use restrooms where the example embodiment is installed.
Referring now to the Figures,
A sink 120 is disposed at the top of the end portion of the urinal. The sink has a sink opening 135 positioned at the sink bottom end portion 150 and above the rear wall. The sink opening provides fluid communication between the sink opening and the rear wall. Fluid communication refers to the flow of fluid between the sink at the top end portion of the urinal to the bowl on the bottom end portion. The fluid flows through the sink opening positioned at the sink bottom end portion down the rear wall of the urinal after being dispensed from the water dispensing element. The urinal further includes a urinal opening 125 at the bottom end portion configured to allow fluid to move out of the bottom end portion 105 of the urinal. The fluid that is moved out of the bottom end portion may consist of any of combination or singularly of wastewater, urine, and fecal matter.
The urinal, and elements thereof, may be made from a variety of materials such as stainless steel, powder coated aluminum, porcelain, ceramic, and polymers. The urinal may include a variety of materials in one embodiment. In other embodiments, the urinal may be made from a unitary material. In other embodiments, the urinal may be made from polyurethane plastics, for example, for use in a portable toilet.
The top end portion 110 which may include a water dispensing element 140 are made from stainless steel. However, other materials may be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The bottom end portion 105 and the bowl 115 disposed at the bottom end portion of the urinal are made from porcelain or ceramic. However, other materials may be used that are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The drainage conduit 245 which is in fluid communication with the urinal is made from powder-coated aluminum. However, other materials may be used that are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The drain conduit may be connected to a sewage system as within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The sink 120 is disposed at the top of the end portion of the urinal and the sink opening 135 is at the sink bottom end portion and above the rear wall where the sink opening provides fluid communication between the sink opening and the rear wall may be made from porcelain, for example. The sink may define a space configured for receiving water.
Fluid within the urinal may include water and wastewater. Generally, water is dispensed into the sink at the upper end portion of the urinal. The water flows through the sink opening onto the rear wall of the urinal. When the urinal is in use, wastewater, which may include at least one of urine and fecal matter, is deposited within the urinal and may be present on the rear wall of the urinal and within the bowl of the urinal. The flow of the water down the rear wall of the urinal removes the wastewater and flushes it through the opening at the bottom end portion of the urinal.
Referring now to
The urinal further includes a urinal opening 125 at the bottom end portion configured to allow fluid to move out of the bottom end portion of the urinal. In the present embodiment the urinal opening is a generally circular shaped opening at the bottom end portion of the urinal. In other embodiments, the urinal opening could be a hole of any other shape to flush the water into the drainage conduit. The hole in the urinal could be placed within various areas of the bowl that would be conducive to effective flushing. These locations include the back of the bowl when the rear wall is sloped in such a way that water is funneled into the hole. The hole can be placed in the front of the bowl as long as the bowl is shaped in such a way that would cause the flow of water to pool in the front of the bowl.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The sensor can be installed in any location that would be conducive for the sensor to effectively receive inputs from its environment and pass along an effective signal to a processor. Such locations for the installation of the sensor include directly under the water dispensing element or on the side of the water dispensing element. Any sensor location configured to detect an input from the restroom environment are within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The use of a sensor and a processor within the system will be reserved for embodiments where washing of hands and flushing of the urinal is automatic. In other embodiments, the water dispensing element may include a handle configured to dispense water when manually moved to an open position. When moved to the open position, a valve is turned to allow the flow of fluid into the top end portion of the urinal.
Referring now to
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Referring now to
In step 410, the sensor transmits a first signal to a processor. The processor and sensor are in electrical communication with each other. The processor receives the first signal from the sensor based on a predetermined environmental parameter. Such environmental parameters may include for example, the proximity of the user's hands to the water dispensing element and the sink, movement of the user's hands within the upper end portion of the urinal, etc. In step 415, the processor determines whether the environmental parameter corresponds to a predetermined environmental parameter threshold. For example, the processor may have to determine whether there was movement of hands for a certain duration or speed. Likewise, the processor may have to determine if the proximity of the hands is within a predetermined distance to the water dispensing element. If the processor determines that the environmental parameter fails to satisfy the predetermined environmental parameter threshold, then processor does not perform any actions and the method returns to step 405 to continue to monitor the environmental parameters. Similarly, the processor may be configured for determining if there an environmental parameter is not satisfied and then sending a second signal to turn off the water dispensing element such that fluid does not continuously dispense from the water dispensing element. However, if the processor determines that the predetermined environmental parameter is satisfied, then the processor continues onto step 420.
After determining the environmental parameter satisfies the predetermined environmental parameter threshold, at step 420, the processor sends a second signal sending a second signal to cause a fluid to be dispensed from the water dispensing. The second signal may include sending information to the water dispensing element for the water dispensing element to at least one of (1) dispense fluid into the sink; and (2) stop dispensing fluid into the sink after a predetermined time.
At step 425 the water dispending element receives the second signal and dispenses the fluid. The water dispensing element may be configured to receive the second signal from the processor. The second signal may include information to engage the water dispensing element to dispense water. The water dispensing element then dispenses water into the sink. The water enters the bowl and travels through the sink opening. Once it passes through the sink opening the water traverses along the rear wall of the urinal into the bowl at the bottom portion of the urinal. As the water traverses down the rear wall, the water gathers in the bowl for a set amount of time before being flushed down the urinal hole. At step 430 fluid moves out of the bottom end portion of the urinal. Therefore, the fluid that was dispensed into the sink flushes wastewater out of the urinal opening.
In other embodiments, the urinal may be manually flushed by the restroom user. The flushing element in an embodiment where the urinal is manually flushed may include a button which initiates the flushing process of the urinal. The manual element may be a lever which sits above the water dispensing element. When the urinal is manually flushed, water runs down the rear wall and into the bowl where it gathers. When the person using the urinal engages with the manual flushing element, the water dispensing element dispenses water into the sink. Water enters the hole in the sink and traverses the rear wall into the bowl. The water enters the bowl and flushes down the hole in the bowl along with other fluids already in the urinal. These fluids may include wastewater, urine, or fecal matter.
In other embodiments, the urinal may automatically flush at a predetermined time. The automatic flushing is to ensure that the urinal is flushed periodically if a sensor were to malfunction, or the urinal was not used for an extended period of time. This automatic flushing creates a better experience by keeping the water in the urinal cleaner with periodic flushing.
With reference to
Computing device or processor 600 may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device 600 may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Computing device 600 may also contain a communication connection 616 that may allow device 600 to communicate with other computing devices 618, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 616 is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both computer storage media and communication media.
As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in system memory 604, including operating system 605. While executing on processing unit 602, programming modules 606 may perform processes including, for example, one or more of the methods shown in
Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that may implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip (such as a System on Chip) containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general-purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems.
Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the present invention have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the invention.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part which claims the benefit of the filing date for the non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/949,653 titled “‘UINK’ URINAL AND SICK COMBO” of which was filed on Apr. 20, 2021; the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
