AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT WASHBASIN The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TITLE: WASHBASIN (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to washbasins, and more particularly to a washbasin contains two partitioned sinks for separate cleaning 5 activities. (b) Description of the Prior Art Washbasins are commonly found in households and public facilities. Conventional washbasins have a single bowl and all activities such as washing face, brushing teeth, washing hands, spitting, blowing nose, cleaning towels, 10 etc. are conducted in this single bowl. This has given people an impression that the washbasin is not quite hygiene or even may be contaminated when there is some sick member in the household, not to mention those washbasins installed public facilities. In addition, in order to have the hot- and cold-water faucets properly above the bowl for water supply, there is only a limited space 15 reserved between the bowl and the back wall where the washbasin is installed. The limited space therefore is not enough for placing the items that people usually use during washing up such as soap, tooth brush, tooth paste, glasses, etc. As such, a platform is usually installed on the back wall above the washbasin for the placement of these items. This platform actually increases 20 unnecessary cost and labor for the installation of the washbasin and takes up 2 the already limited space in the bathroom. There is also a potential hazard that the platform would fall off when there are too many items placed thereon. 5 3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a novel washbasin is provided herein which contains a lateral front platform and a vertical back platform. A bowl is formed in the front platform and the bowl is laterally portioned into a primary sink and a 5 secondary sink by a ridge running along a front-back direction inside the bowl. The primary and secondary sinks have outlets at the sinks' bottoms, respectively. On a front side of the back platform, a primary faucet and a secondary faucet are provided above the primary and secondary sinks, respectively. In addition, hot-water and cold-water knobs at the two sides of 10 the primary faucet are provided above the primary sink. The back platform has a flat top surface for the placement of various washing-up items such as glasses, tooth brushes, tooth paste, etc. The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the 15 present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 20 Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become 4 manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective diagram showing a washbasin according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG 2 is a top-view diagram showing the washbasin of FIG 1. 5 6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration 5 for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a washbasin according to an embodiment of 10 the present invention has an integrally formed body having a lateral front platform 1 and a vertical back platform 16 so that, if viewed from a lateral side, the body is L-shaped. A bowl is formed in the front platform 1 where a rear side of the bowl borders the back platform 16. The bowl is laterally portioned into a primary 15 sink 12 and a secondary sink 13 by a ridge 11 running along a front-back direction (i.e., perpendicular to the back wall) inside the bowl. The primary and secondary sinks 12 and 13 have outlets 121 and 131 at the sinks' bottoms, respectively, for draining the water. On a front side of the back platform 16, a primary faucet 122 and a secondary faucet 132 are provided above the 20 primary and secondary sinks 12 and 13, respectively. In addition, hot-water 7 and cold-water knobs 14 and 15 at the two sides of the primary faucet 122 are provided above the primary sink 12 to control the temperature of the water running out of the faucets 122 and 132. The piping for the faucets 122 and 132 and the control mechanism of the knobs 14 and 15 should be well-known to 5 people of the related arts and their details are omitted here. By using faucets and knobs that are extended from the front side of the back platform 16, the same distance between a prior-art washbasin and the back wall could be preserved, and the back platform 16 could have a flat top surface for the placement of various washing-up items such as glasses, tooth 10 brushes, tooth paste, etc. As such, there is no need to install an additional platform for reduced cost and labor. There is also no need to worry whether the additional platform is strong enough to hold all washing-up items. By separating the bowl ofthe washbasin into two sinks 12 and 13, the sinks 12 and 13 could be used for different kinds of activities. For example, 15 simple cleaning activities such as washing hands, face, and cleaning towels, etc., could be conducted using the primary sink 12. On the other hands, those activities that involve filthy material such as spitting and blowing nose could be conducted using the secondary sink 13. As such, the hygiene of the primary sink 12 could be maintained. 20 An additional advantage of the present invention is that faucets and knobs 8 are extended from the front side of the back platform 16 directly above the sinks 12 and 13 and, as such, they are easier to clean and no water would be attached. While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and 5 described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.