FR2642099A1 - Apparatus preventing splashes in WCs - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device making it possible to damp the impact of stools as they enter the water in WCs. This device floating on the water surface consists of a membrane 1 resting flat on the water and sandwiched in its centre by two volumes of curved shape 2 and 3. The device according to the invention is intended particularly for preventing splashing of water in WCs.

Description

The present invention relates to a device which, based on
flat on the water of the toilet bowl type "single bowl" allows
due to its shape and its inertia, to absorb the shock wave of the stool lo
rs of their penetration into the water and thereby eliminates splashes
often cold and unhygienic.

Currently in the absence of a device, the user can try
to guard against splashes using sheets of toilet paper
than placed on the surface of the water.

This device consists of a floating body with a den
sity well below '1 which allows it not to go out of the
bowl when emptying, sufficient mass to prevent it from
remain glued against the walls of the WC, and of a reduced volume which
met slil was mistakenly led not to obstruct the pipes
evacuation.

The invention presented consists of a flexible membrane forming
a disc, lying flat on the water and sandwiched in the middle
by two volumes. These have a curved shape and a diameter smaller than the
membrane are placed so as to form a kind of ball, one of the vo
lumes being all or partly submerged, the other being on the surface.

FIG. 1 represents, in section, the device according to the invention
tion.

Figure 2 shows in exploded view, a variant of this dis
positive.

The device shown in Figure 1 includes a membrane (1) in for
disc me of about 10 cm in diameter and two volumes (2) and (3) having
each a diameter of around 4 cm for a height in the middle of
1.5 cm approximately.

In the embodiment according to Figure 2 the membrane (1)
is pierced in its center with an opening that can be equal to the diameter
the edge of volumes (2) and (3), and is composed of a sheet comprising
alveoli (5). The lower volume (3), delimited by its envelope
(7) and an internal partition (8) is hollow in order to receive a pro
hygienic duit, tle, In addition the volume (3) is of a different shape than the vo
lume (2) delimited by its envelope (6) and comprises orifices (4) allowing the diffusion of the product. When assembling the device the
envelopes (6) and (7) are joined so as to guarantee the tightness of
the air trapped inside the envelopes (6) and (7).
ante the membrane (1) can be sandwiched at its inner edge by the envelopes (6) and (7) or be fixed on the outer edge of the envelopes (6) and (7).

The two volumes (2) and (3) have the role:
- Absorbtion of stool shock by their curved shape and inertia
- To allow the device to float when emptying the WC

 This buoyancy is due, depending on the variant, to the choice of the material or materials used, either to the fact that the volumes are hollow, or to the combination of the two, which allows the entire device to have a density much less than 1.

The role of the membrane (1):
- The centering in the middle of the toilet bowl of the mass formed by the volumes (2) and (3) thanks to its surface which covers most of the water. The calf surface not covered by the device allows the membrane (1) to unfold and center correctly after the backwater of the drain.

 - The absorption of shocks, by its inertia to curl up under the impact (s).

 - To be able to curl up in order to allow the device to be evacuated if it was driven in error, or after a number of uses, or a fixed period. This power is due to the choice of flexible materials but of sufficient rigidity, however, to allow the membrane (1) to resume its shape after emptying.

 According to one embodiment, the device comprises two identical volunes (7) and (3), of solid material such as Polystyrene (registered trademark) enclosing a membrane (1) of plastic material, the whole being symmetrical with respect to the surface of water, and therefore reversible. the air volume can be submerged and vice versa.

 In order to preserve the present invention from soiling, this is made of, or covered with, non-stick material such as teflon (registered trademark), non-stick varnish, or the like.

 According to a variant, the device consists of a single part encompassing the volumes (2) and (3) and the membrane (1) and is obtained by molding, such as the hot molding of a sheet of Polystyrene (registered trademark), or by injection, or other manufacturing method.

 According to a variant, the membrane (1) can be resized in order to reduce its diameter in order to be able to adjust correctly to the battens surface.

 According to a variant, the membrane (1) consists of a disc of material comprising small air-filled cells. This cellular material has the power to increase the absorption of shocks and the buoyancy of the device.

 According to a variant, the proposed invention consists entirely or in part of chemically degradable materials in order to be able to easily get rid of it after a certain time or number of uses.

According to this variant ltun or the two volumes (2) and (3) consist entirely or in part of material quickly soluble in water and re; covered with a layer of material such as gelatin, cellulose or others ensuring the tightness of the volume (s). After a predetermined duration, the protective layer becomes inoperative either by its gradual absence, or by the loss of its sealing qualities. The part of the rapidly soluble volume is then, depending on the material chosen, either dissolved or soaked or both, which causes the loss of buoyancy of the device. The evacuation is then easily done when emptying the W.C.

 According to a variant, one or both volumes (2) and (3) consist of a sealed envelope (6) and (7) containing a gas which is under slight overpressure in order to increase the resistance of the envelopes (6) and ( 7) during use, and to facilitate the destruction of the device by crushing the envelopes on themselves. When the seal is lost, the envelopes (6) and (7) are, according to the chosen variant, provided with zones of increased fragility in order to favor this phenomenon.

 According to a variant, the membrane (1) consists entirely or only of self-stretching of self-stretching material in order to allow the membrane to cover almost all of the water.

 According to a variant, the device contains inside its envelopes (6) and (7) a capsule containing a solvent, being released after a certain number of movements of the device or after a determined duration; and causing the dissolution of the device.

 According to a variant, the volumes (2) and (3) consist of envelopes (6) and (7) and contain a ballast composed or not of sanitary product such as deodorant, dye, disinfectant or others. In this variant, the device comprises an exclusively aerial volume (2) which can be empty of product and an immersed volume completely or partially filled with product and comprising orifices (4) in order to allow its diffusion. The submerged volume (3) may be of smaller dimension and different from the aerial part (2), and may for example be in the form of an inverted bell, in order to allow the device according to the invention to have a center of gravity located as low as possible to prevent the device from overturning. The sanitary product is gradually eliminated if its density is less than 1 a gradual loss of buoyancy of the device and then allows its evacuation during emptying. In the case where the density of the product is greater than I, the entire device acquires greater buoyancy as the product dissolves and this until the moment when the absence of product no longer guarantees the sealing of the air mass trapped in the volume (s) (2) and (3). Consequently, the water from the toilet bowl fills the volumes (2) and (3) during emptying and allows the device to be evacuated. A partition (8) of soluble material guaranteed, depending on the version, to better seal the aforementioned air mass.

 According to the variant, one or both volumes (2) and (3) comprise one or more internal partitions which may or may not be soluble, which makes it possible to separate the various constituents or products between them.

 The device according to the invention is particularly intended for the prevention of projections in the W.C.

Claims (10)

 1) Device preventing water splashes in the WC during stool, characterized in that it consists of a floating body.  2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in that it has two volumes (2) and (3) sandwiching in the middle a flexible membrane.  3) Device according to claims 1 and 2 characterized in that the volumes (2) and (3) consist of solid materials, or consist of t hollow casings (6) and (7).  4) Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that one of the volumes (2) or (3) contains a ballast and has small orifices (4).  5) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is covered with non-stick material.  6) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the membrane (1) is of a resizable flexibility.  7) Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the membrane (1) consists of an al velar structure.  8) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device is chemically destructible.  9) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the volumes (2) and (3) and the membrane (1) consist of a single piece-obtained by molding.  10) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the membrane (1) consists entirely or in part of self-expanding materials.