DE102021111044A1 - Thermoformed toilet basket with rigid holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a toilet basket (1) toilet basket (1) with at least one holding device (10) with which the toilet basket (1) can be attached to an upper edge of a toilet bowl and with a container area (50), which has at least one container (51) for accommodating a WC active substance, the holding device (10) and the container area (50) being thermoformed from a plastic film, and the holding device (10) having at least one inner web (11) which is in Position of use of the toilet basket (1) extends from the upper edge of the toilet bowl to the container area (50), characterized in that the inner web (11) has stabilizing means for achieving flexural rigidity, so that when the toilet basket (1) is attached to the upper edge, a force can be derived from an attachment force acting on the inner web (11) with which the container area (50) is pressed in the direction of a side wall of the toilet bowl.

Description

The invention relates to a toilet basket with at least one holding device with which the toilet basket can be fastened to an upper edge of a toilet bowl, and with a container area which has at least one container for holding a toilet ingredient.

From the EP 3 214 232 A1 a toilet basket is known which has a container area with four containers arranged next to one another and a holding device. The holding device comprises an inner web which has clamping elements at an upper end. The clamping elements serve to hold the inner web, which can be inserted from below into a downwardly open gap in the upper edge of the toilet bowl, by clamping forces in the gap.

The inner web is connected to the container area at a lower end. The manufacture of the toilet basket EP 3 214 232 A1 is done by thermoforming a plastic film. Accordingly, the inner web is formed from the thermoformed plastic film. The inner web therefore has a low wall thickness and is correspondingly flexible. The inner web only has to absorb tensile forces in order to hold the weight of the container area and the toilet active substance.

Compared to an injection-moulded toilet bowl, the use of material for the production of a thermoformed toilet bowl is significantly lower. Another advantage of the thermoformed toilet bowl is that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be used as the plastic, the recyclate of which is of high quality and purity. The thermoformed toilet basket can consist of up to 100% recycled plastic material, which, in addition to the low use of materials, ensures a high level of environmental compatibility.

The attachment of the toilet basket EP 3 214 232 A1 at the top of the toilet bowl is fraught with problems. When attaching the toilet basket to the upper edge, it is only a non-positive connection. If the clamping force generated by the clamping elements, or if the friction between the clamping elements and the gap in the upper edge is too low, the toilet basket slides down into the toilet bowl. It is also difficult to universally interpret the toilet basket for different toilet bowls. If, for example, the downwardly open gap of the upper edge is too wide, the clamping elements will not develop any clamping forces. If the gap is too narrow, it will be difficult to insert the upper end of the inner bridge with the adhesive elements into the gap. The toilet basket is also difficult to move if it is stuck in the gap in the upper edge. When attempting to move the toilet basket, the user comes into direct contact with the toilet basket.

Since the inner web is flexible, the container area only hangs on the inner web. The container area is basically perpendicular below the upper edge. This can result in the container portion floating freely within the toilet bowl and not in contact with a side wall of the toilet bowl. The container area could then not be flowed through enough with flushing water, which largely runs down from the upper edge along the side wall when the toilet is flushed. As a result, the toilet active substance is only insufficiently dissolved by the flushing water, which means that the toilet basket cannot develop its desired cleaning and/or scenting effect. It can also be the case that the toilet basket is displaced or deformed by the forces that act on the toilet basket as a result of the flushing water hitting it.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a thermoformed toilet basket which can be fastened to the upper edge of the toilet bowl, functions reliably and retains its shape as far as possible while the toilet is being flushed.

This object is achieved by a toilet basket according to claim 1. Embodiments of the invention can be found in the subclaims to claim 1.

According to the invention, the inner web has stabilizing means which give the inner web a certain flexural rigidity. If the toilet basket is attached to the upper edge, for example with the clamping force described above, a force can be derived from this, with which the container area is pressed in the direction of the side wall of the toilet bowl. In other words, the container area not only hangs on the inner web, but due to its flexural rigidity, the inner web is able to press the container area out of the plumb line in the direction of the side wall. The container area is preferably pressed against the side wall and is in contact with it. Flushing water that runs down the side wall can thus be more easily absorbed by the container area and get into the container.

The inner web can have an upper vertical section and an inclined section which is connected to the vertical section via a rigid angle piece. An angle of inclination between the vertical section and the inclined section can be 10° to 50°. Such an angled interior web favors a plant of the container area on the side wall of the toilet bowl or takes the geometry of the toilet bowl into account. The angle of inclination should be understood as the angle that results between the inclined section and the imaginary extension of the vertical section.

In one embodiment, the stabilizing means comprises a main reinforcing rib extending along the inner web. The main reinforcement rib increases the flexural rigidity of the inner bridge. A cross-section of the main reinforcing rib may be constant over its length or may vary with length. The cross section can be rectangular, semi-circular or curved in some other way. The cross section can thus be assigned a certain radius of curvature, which lies in the plane of the cross section.

The main reinforcing rib may extend across the elbow to the sloping portion. This leads to a particularly rigid inner web, since the angle of inclination for the main reinforcing rib results in a further radius of curvature which is at an angle to the radius of curvature of the cross section of the reinforcing rib. These overlapping radii of curvature, which are located in different levels, generate high moments of inertia of the inner web and counteract buckling under load.

An embodiment provides that the stabilizing means comprise at least two radii of curvature, which extend in different, intersecting planes. The radii of curvature thus enclose angles or run in opposite directions and form three-dimensional curved surfaces.

The inclined section can transition into the container area at a lower end, wherein the stabilizing means can have at least one secondary reinforcement rib, which stiffens a transition from the inclined section to the container area. In a preferred embodiment, two parallel or almost parallel secondary reinforcement ribs are provided, which can be arranged at a distance from a central axis of the toilet bowl. The arrangement of the secondary reinforcing ribs is preferably aligned symmetrically with respect to the central axis.

The main reinforcing rib and the secondary reinforcing rib can form an overlap in the direction of a main extension of the inner web. This means that the transition, the inclined section, the angle piece and at least the lower part of the vertical section are continuously reinforced with reinforcing ribs. A flexible weak point in the course of the inner web is thus avoided, which would drastically reduce the (overall) bending stiffness of the inner web.

In one embodiment, the inner web is followed by a supporting web and an outer web, the inner web and the supporting web being connected by a first bending area and the supporting web and the outer web being connected by a second bending area. In a state of rest, the inner bar, carrying bar and outer bar can form a folded package that can be unfolded into a U-shaped bracket by means of a force applied by hand, which can be hung over the upper edge of the toilet bowl. To unfold the folded package, the first bending area can first be widened to a bending angle of approximately 90°. Thereafter, the second bending area can also be widened, so that there is also an angle of approximately 90° between the supporting web and the outer web. The inner bridge, supporting bridge and outer bridge then form the U-shaped bracket, with the supporting bridge representing the U-base and the inner bridge or an upper part of the inner bridge (upper vertical section) and the outer bridge forming the essentially parallel U-legs spaced apart from one another.

The subpackage made up of the support bar and the outer bar can project beyond the inner bar in order to be able to grip the part pack with your fingers and thus apply a force to open it. Correspondingly, the outer web can also have a projection in relation to the supporting web in order to also have the second bending area.

Due to the widening of the first bending area and the second bending area, certain restoring forces prevail in the U-shaped bracket, by which the individual webs are forced back in the direction of the original, folded package. When the U-shaped bracket hangs over the upper edge of the toilet bowl, these elastic restoring forces can be used as clamping forces, by which the U-shaped bracket is also fixed laterally and held in a certain position.

The support bridge and the outer bridge can be made together with the inner bridge by thermoforming. First of all, the inner bridge, supporting bridge and outer bridge lie essentially in one plane and are thus thermoformed. The bending angles of the first bending area and the second bending area are around 180°. After that, the second bending area can be plastically deformed by a corresponding heat input, after plastic deformation, the bending angle is practically 0°. In other words, the outer area has been folded onto the support bridge. This partial package, consisting of the outer bar and supporting bar, is then folded in the direction of the inner bar, with the initial bending angle of the first bending area being around 180° and being reduced to values around 0° by folding. In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the plastic deformation of the second bending region also takes place by means of a corresponding heat input. The individual webs can be folded together around a thin pin that is inserted into the respective bending area and defines the bending axis. The outer ridge, the supporting ridge and the inner ridge (or an upper part of the inner ridge) are thus present as a folded package that has essentially no internal forces in this state of rest. The restoring forces described above are only generated when this package is unfolded again in order to form the U-shaped bracket.

The container area can have a lip which, when the toilet basket is in the used position, represents a funnel which collects flushing water and directs it into an opening of the container. As a result, even with a small opening, a comparatively large amount of flushing water can be fed into the container, resulting in a more intensive exchange between the flushing water and the active ingredient in the toilet.

In one embodiment, the lip has an outer edge that serves to seat the container portion against the side wall of the toilet bowl. The fitting edge also allows the lip to catch that portion of the flush water that runs straight down the side wall when the toilet is flushed.

The container can comprise a first container half and a second container half, each of which can have a bowl-shaped container wall. When the toilet basket is in use, these two halves of the container are in a folded state. In thermoforming, the recesses in the deep-drawing mold that are necessary for shaping the shell-shaped container walls are next to one another. After thermoforming, one of the container halves is folded 180° onto the other container half. Joining surfaces of the container halves, which are next to each other in one plane during thermoforming, face each other after folding and can be welded, sealed or glued together.

A plastic film made of PET can be used for thermoforming. The percentage of recycled PET can range from 0% to 100%. The PET film can be drawn into the deep-drawing mold by means of a vacuum and/or pressed into it by means of a stamp. Preferably, the lavatory basket is a one-piece thermoformed part.

The WC active ingredient may be a solid having the shape of a sphere, a pill or the like. The WC active ingredient can be wrapped in a water-soluble film. The film protects the toilet ingredient from environmental influences and direct contact with the toilet ingredient. In addition, it prevents the release of a fragrance in the toilet active substance. When used in the toilet bowl, the film dissolves so that the active ingredient in the toilet can develop its effect together with the flushing water. The toilet active can be a scented or unscented detergent.

The container can have a spacer on which the toilet active substance rests essentially in punctiform form. Due to the punctiform contact, the toilet active substance can also be flushed well from below by the flushing water, which increases the solubility of the toilet active substance in the container.

• 1 ein Ausführungsbeispiel für ein erfindungsgemäßes WC-Körbchen in einer Seitenansicht;
• 2 das WC-Körbchen der 1 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht von vorne;
• 3 das WC-Körbchen der 1 in einer Vorderansicht;
• 4 das WC-Körbchen der 1 in einer Hinteransicht;
• 5 das WC-Körbchen der 1 in einer perspektivischen Ansicht von oben; und

Based on the embodiment shown in the drawing, the invention is explained in more detail. Show it:

• 1 an embodiment of a toilet basket according to the invention in a side view;
• 2 the toilet basket 1 in a perspective view from the front;
• 3 the toilet basket 1 in a front view;
• 4 the toilet basket 1 in a rear view;
• 5 the toilet basket 1 in a perspective view from above; and

the 1 until 5 show a toilet basket, which is denoted by 1 in its entirety. The toilet basket 1 comprises a holding device 10 and a container area 50. The holding device 10 serves to attach the toilet basket 1 to an upper edge of a toilet bowl (not shown). The container area 50 has a plurality of containers 51 which are used to hold a toilet agent. The toilet active substance can be a fragrance, a toilet cleaning agent or a combination thereof. The toilet active ingredient is designed in such a way that it can be dissolved by the flushing water in the toilet bowl when the toilet is flushed.

The holding device 10 comprises an inner web 11, a supporting web 12 and an outer web 13. Between the inner web 10 and the supporting web 12 there is a first elastic bending region 14 which can be expanded from a bending angle α shown here of approximately 15° to 90° . A second bending region 15 arranged between the supporting web 12 and the outer web 13 can also be widened in such a way that the supporting web 12 and the outer web 13 are at right angles to one another. The widened flex areas 14, 15 result in a U-shaped bracket which can be hung over the top edge of the toilet bowl. The expanded state of the bending areas 14, 15 or the webs 10 and 13 is indicated by the dash-dotted lines 12', 13'. It should be noted that the chain-dotted lines 12' and 13' only schematically indicate the expanded U-shaped bracket. Thus, in the expanded state with the hanger suspended over the upper edge, the inner web 11, the support web 12 and the outer web 13 are also subjected to bending stress. For example, the support bar can be deformed in such a way that only a middle section of the support bar rests on the upper edge. The edge sections of the supporting web 12 in the vicinity of the bending areas 14, 15 can be bent upwards and merge into bending areas 14, 15.

Due to the elastic deformation of the bending areas 14, 15, restoring forces prevail in the U-shaped bracket, by which the webs 10, 13 are pressed laterally against the upper edge when the U-shaped bracket rests with its supporting web 12 on the upper edge. The restoring forces cause the U-shaped one to be fixed laterally. The inner web 10 can lie laterally on the upper edge from the inside, while the outer web rests on the outside or engages behind the upper edge from the outside. The outer web 13 springs back until it comes to rest against the upper edge (see dot-dash line 13 ^II , which is intended to make it clear that the outer web springs back).

The inner web 11 comprises an upper vertical section 16 and an inclined section 17 which is connected to the vertical section 16 via an angle piece 18 . An inclination angle between the vertical section 16 and the inclined section 17 is in 1 denoted by β and is 25° to 30° in the exemplary embodiment shown here. The angle of inclination is enclosed by the imaginary extension of the vertical section 16 (see broken line) and the inclined section 17 .

The inner web 11 has stabilizing means that increase its flexural rigidity. The inner web 11 can therefore absorb bending moments about an axis in the representation of 1 runs perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. Acts, for example, on the attachment of the U-shaped bracket, a force on the inner web 11, which this in the view of 1 pushes to the left, the container area 50 connected to the inner web 11 is also pushed to the left. When the toilet basket is used in the toilet bowl, this can lead to the container area bearing against the side wall of the toilet bowl with a certain contact pressure.

The stabilizing means comprise a main reinforcing rib 19 which extends substantially over the entire vertical section 16, the angle piece 18 and the inclined section 17. Like the 1 until 5 As can be seen in synopsis, the main reinforcing rib 19 has a convex cross-section with a certain radius of curvature lying in the plane of the cross-section. In the area of the angle piece 18, the main reinforcement rib is additionally curved in a different direction, namely here the further radius of curvature lies in the plane of the drawing 1 . These radii of curvature lying in different planes or radii of curvature inclined towards one another lead to a particularly good stiffening of the inner web 11.

A similar effect also occurs at the rounded ends 20, 21 of the main reinforcement rib 19, since differently aligned radii of curvature also meet here.

The inclined section 17 transitions into the container area 50 at a lower end, with two secondary reinforcing ribs 23, 24 being provided, which stiffen a transition 25 from the inclined section 17 to the container area 50. In the 4 and 5 an overhang 26 is drawn in, which results from the fact that the lower end 21 of the main reinforcing rib 19 is below an upper end 27 of the secondary reinforcing ribs 23, 24. This ensures that the area moment of inertia is large over the entire length of the inclined section 17 and the transition 25 .

Like the one in particular 2 , 3 and 4 can be removed, there are four containers 51 for the toilet agent, which can be present, for example, as granules that have been pressed into a ball. The container 51 (which should also apply as a representative to the other containers) comprises a first container half 52 and a second container half 53, each of which has a shell-shaped container wall 54, 55. The container halves 52, 53 are in the representation of 1 until 5 in a collapsed state. The container halves 52, 53 are folded together only after the container halves 52, 53 have been thermoformed. Basket 1 made by thermoforming a PET film.

The first container half 52 has an edge 56 which faces an edge 57 of the second container half 53 . In an upper region, the edge 57 has an angled segment 58 which is inclined at approximately 45° to the vertical. The angled segment 58 can also be referred to as a lip which forms a funnel which collects and directs the flushing water into a gap or opening 59 between the first and second container halves. An outer edge 60 of the lip 58 serves to seat the container portion 50 against the side wall of the toilet bowl. As a result, the lip 58 is able to collect and guide into the opening 59 the part of the flushing water which runs down directly on the side wall when the toilet is flushed.

The hinges 61 connect the container halves 52, 53 of the four containers 51. The hinges 61 are arranged underneath the containers 51 and therefore do not impede the flow of the washing water from above into the containers 51. The washing water can flow out of the containers 51 through a gap 62 on the underside to step. In addition, further additional openings 63 can be provided in order to promote the entry or exit of the rinsing water into or out of the containers 51 .

The container 51 has spacers 64 on which the WC active substance rests in a point or line form. This means that the flushing water can wash around the active ingredient in the toilet from below.

In particular from 4 it becomes clear that several reinforcing ribs 65 are formed in the supporting web 12, through which the supporting web 12, which rests on the upper edge when the toilet basket 1 is in use, is reinforced. An overhang 66 of the outer web 13 compared to the inner web 11 makes it possible to grip the partial package consisting of the outer web 13 and the supporting web 12 with two fingers and then to twist it around the axis of the first bending area 14 in order to form the U-shaped bracket. In addition, the overhang 66 can also be used to open the outer web 13 in relation to the support web 12 .

reference list

1

toilet basket

10

holding device

11

inner bar

12

carrying bridge

13

outer bar

14

first bending area

15

second bending area

16

vertical section

17

inclined section

18

elbow

19

Main reinforcement rib

20

top end

21

lower end

23

Secondary reinforcement rib

24

Secondary reinforcement rib

25

crossing

26

overlaps

27

top end

50

container area

51

container

52

first half of the container

53

second half of the container

54

bowl-shaped container wall

55

bowl-shaped container wall

56

edge

57

edge

58

segment/lip

59

opening

60

outer edge

61

hinge

62

gap

63

additional opening

64

spacers

65

reinforcing rib

66

Got over

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• EP 3214232 A1 [0002, 0003, 0005]

Claims (15)

Toilet basket (1) with at least one holding device (10) with which the toilet basket (1) can be attached to an upper edge of a toilet bowl, and with a container area (50) which has at least one container (51) for receiving a toilet active ingredient, wherein the holding device (10) and the container area (50) are thermoformed from a plastic film, and wherein the holding device (10) has at least one inner web (11) which, when the toilet basket (1) is in the position of use the upper edge of the toilet bowl up to the container area (50), characterized in that the inner web (11) has stabilizing means for obtaining flexural rigidity, so that when the toilet basket (1) is attached to the upper edge, from a A force can be derived from the fastening force acting on the inner web (11), with which the container area (50) is pressed in the direction of a side wall of the toilet bowl. toilet basket (1) after claim 1 , characterized in that the inner web (11) has an upper vertical section (16) and an inclined section (17) which is connected to the vertical section via an angle piece (18), the angle of inclination between the vertical section (16) and the inclined section (17) being 10 ° to 50°. toilet basket (1) after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the stabilizing means comprise a main reinforcing rib (19) extending along the inner web. toilet basket (1) after claim 3 , characterized in that the main reinforcing rib (19) extends over the elbow (18) to the inclined portion (17). Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 until 4 , characterized in that the stabilizing means comprise at least two radii of curvature extending in different intersecting planes. Toilet basket (1) according to one of claims 2 until 5 , characterized in that the inclined section (17) merges into the container area (50) at a lower end, the stabilizing means having at least one secondary reinforcing rib (34, 24) which has a transition (25) from the inclined section (17) to the container area (50) stiffened. toilet basket (1) after claim 6 , characterized in that two essentially parallel secondary reinforcement ribs are provided, which are arranged at a distance from a central axis of the toilet basket (1). toilet basket (1) after claim 6 or 7 , characterized in that the main reinforcing rib (19) and the secondary reinforcing rib (23, 24) form an intersection (26) in the direction of a main extension of the inner web (11). Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 until 8th , characterized in that the inner web (11) is followed by a supporting web (12) and an outer web (13), the inner web (11) and the supporting web (12) being separated by a first bending area (14) and the supporting web (12) and the outer web (13) are connected by a second bending area (15). toilet basket (1) after claim 9 , characterized in that from a state of rest, in which the outer web (13), the supporting web (12) and the inner web (11) form a folded package, the package unfolds into a U-shaped bracket by means of a force introduced by hand that can be hung over the top of the toilet bowl. Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 until 10 , characterized in that the container area (50) has a lip (58) which represents a funnel in the position of use of the toilet agent, which collects flushing water and directs it into an opening (59) of the container (51). toilet basket (1) after claim 11 characterized in that the lip (58) has an outer edge (60) which serves as abutment for the container portion (50) against the side wall of the toilet bowl. Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 until 12 , characterized in that the container (51) comprises a first container half (52) and a second container half (53), each having a shell-shaped container wall (54, 55). Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the toilet active substance is wrapped in a water-soluble film. Toilet basket (1) according to one of Claims 1 until 14 , characterized in that the container (51) has a spacer (64) on which the toilet active ingredient rests in a punctiform manner.

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