GB2108170A - Paper covers for toilet seats - Google Patents

Abstract

A toilet seat cover 10 of paper or the like (typically tissue paper) is oval-shaped to fit over a toilet seat 22 and has at least one dependent tongue 14 for fitting into the bowl (a) to protect the front and or back of the internal wall of the bowl (b) to reduce splash and (c) to cause the cover to be drawn into the bowl on flushing so that it is automatically flushed away after use. The cover may be impregnated with a fragrance emitting chemical typically one which emits fragrance when heated to body heat and/or comes into contact with water. Covers may be packaged for individual dispensing, or be detachably joined to form a roll or pad. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in sanitary articles Field of invention This invention relates to sanitary articles and is concerned particularly with a toilet seat cover.

Background to the invention Many people are reluctant for reason of hygiene to use toilets in public places, for example, in public conveniences, in retaurants hotels etc., in a manner involving contact between the user and a toilet seat. In order to avoid such contact, some people construct a barrier of toilet paper to cover the seat. This is an awkward, time consuming procedure and is also wasteful of toilet paper.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an alternative means of achieving this objective.

The invention In its broadest aspect the present invention provides a disposable toilet seat cover, comprising an annular piece of disposable material the size and shape of which conform generally to the size and shape of a toilet seat.

In a preferred aspect, the present invention provides a disposable toilet seat cover, comprising an annular piece of disposable material, the size and shape of which conforms generally to the size and shape of a toilet seat, with a tongue portion extending into the interior of the annular region such that, in use, when the cover is located on a toilet seat the tongue portion hangs down into the toilet boil.

The tongue portion forms two main functions; 1. It assists in locating the cover on the seat during fitting, and also helps to retain the cover in place; 2. It functions to pull the cover down into the toilet on flushing after use.

The annular piece of material preferably conforms fairly closely to the configuration of a standard toilet seat, being of generally oval configuration. Other shapes are also possible, for example circular, provided the piece of material will sit on the toilet seat adequately and has a suitable central aperture for convenient use.

The tongue portion is preferably in such a position that during use it is located at the rear of the toilet bowl - the flow of water is generally concentrated in this region during flushing.

The configuration of the tongue portion conveniently corresponds to the configuration of the inner boundary of the annular region. A toilet seat cover having these features may be readily manufactured by a simple cutting operation - it is to be noted that only one cutting step is required to define the inner boundary of the annular region and also the outer margin of the tongue portion.

The tongue portion need not, however, conform to the configuration of the annular region in a margin and instead may be narrower and/or shorter if desired.

The cover may be made of a suitable material which will degrade in appropriate manner when flushed into the usual sewage treatment system. For example, paper similar to that used for conventional soft toilet paper may be used for this purpose.

A preferred configuration of tongue for a particular type of material may be determined by conducting tests in order to obtain optimum locating/flushing effectiveness.

Toilet seat covers in accordance with the invention may be available individually, for example, they may be conveniently individually wrapped for sale in the usual retail outlets. They may also be obtainable in this form from dispensers possibly upon activation of a coil-feed mechanism, in public toilets.

Alternatively, a plurality of toilet seat covers may be packaged together, for example, in rolls or stacks. It is envisaged that multiple packs of this type may be made available in public toilets from a suitable dispensing arrangement. The dispensing arrangement may either be such that the covers are available free of charge to users, or may instead require activiation of a coil-feed mechanism.

One preferred multiple pack of this type comprises a stack of super-posed covers held together, e.g. by means of rivets or staples between suitable supports, e.g. of cardboard, plastics material etc. The covers are preferably held in place between the supports by means of two or more narrow tabs extending from the rear of each cover. The tabs may be perforated if required to facilitate easy removal. The package may conveniently be mounted on a wall by means of a mounting strip adapted to be fixed to a wall and including means for supporting the pack, for example, two or more hooks for passing through hollow rivets.

Alternatively, a plurality of covers may be provided in the form of a roll, with adjacent covers on the roll interconnected by perforated regions for easy removal. Such a roll may be mounted in a holder or dispenser similar to holders and dispensers commonly used for receiving conventional rolls of toilet paper or kitchen towel.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention two tongues are provided to overlie the front and back regions of the toilet bowl when pushed down into the bowl. The second tongue further reduces splash and further facilitates the drawing down of the cover into the bowl on flushing.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the covers may be impregnated with a chemical which exudes a perfumed frangrance.

Conveniently a chemical is selected which is volatile at normal room temperatures. Alternatively a chemical may be used which only exudes a fragrance when warmed to body heat (as when sat on) or when it comes into contact with water.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view illustrating a pack of toilet seat covers in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the pack illustrated in Fig. 1; and Figure 3 is a schematic side view illustrating a toilet seat cover located in a position of use.

Detailed description of the drawings Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, illustrates a preferred embodiment of toilet seat cover (10) in accordance with the present invention.

The illustrated cover is made of paper similar to the paper from which soft toilet paper is conventionally made which is formed to the illustrated configuration. This configuration comprises an annular region 1 2 the size and shape of which conform generally to the size and shape of a standard toilet seat, with a tongue portion 14 extending into the interior of the annular region from the rear thereof.

Three tabs 1 6 protrude from the rear of the annular region, each having a width in the region of 12 to 15mm. These tabs 16 are used for mounting a plurality of covers 10 together to form a pack, as illustrated in Figs.

1 and 2. The covers are super-posed to form a stack and are held together between front and rear supports 18, e.g. of cardboard or plastics material, by means of rivets 20 passing through the supports and tabs.

The assembled stack may conveniently be secured to a wall by means of a mounting strip (not shown) adapted to be fixed to a wall and including two or more hooks for passing through the hollow rivets 18 for supporting the pack.

The covers 10 may then be removed from the stack one at a time. Perforated regions may be provided at the base of the tabs 16, if required, to facilitate such removal.

The overall dimensions of the illustrated cover are in the region of 19" (490mm) from front to back and approximately 16" (400mm) wide.

In use, a cover 10 is located on a toilet seat 22 with the annular region 1 2 resting on the seat, the cover being orientated with the tabs 16 and tongue attachment region located at the rear. The tongue portion 14 drops down into the toilet bowl 24, as illustrated schematically in Fig. 3. In this condition, the tongue portion 14 acts to assist in locating the cover 10 on the seat and also helps to retain the cover in place.

After use, the toilet is flushed in the usual way. The tongue portion 14 is caught in the resulting flow of water and acts to pull the entire cover of the seat 22 and into the toilet bowl to be flushed away.

The tongue portion 14 additionally acts to protect the rear of the toilet bowl during use and so to keep it clean.

Claims (14)

1. A disposable toilet seat cover, comprising an apertured piece of disposable material and size and shape of which conforms generally to the size and shape of a toilet seat, with at least one tongue portion extending into the aperture such that, in use, when the cover is located on a toilet seat the tongue portion hangs down into the toilet bowl.

2. A cover as claimed in claim 1 wherein the material is of general oval configuration.

3. A cover as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein these are two tongues which when in use will hang down over the front and rear edges of the bowl.

4. A cover as claimed in claim 3 wherein the configuration of each tongue portion corresponds to the configuration of the inner bourndary of the aperture in the cover.

5. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims made of a material which will degrade in appropriate manner when flushed into a sewage treatment system. For example,

6. A cover as claimed in claim 5 wherein the material is soft tissue paper.

7. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims when impregnated with a chemical which gives off a perfumed fragrance at normal room temperatures.

8. A cover as claimed in claim 7 wherein the impregnating chemical is one which only gives off a perfumed fragrance on contact with water.

9. A cover as claimed in claim 7 wherein the impregnating chemical is one which will give off perfumed fragrance when raised to normal body temperature, so that only when sandwiched between a seated person and the toilet seat, will the fragrance be exuded.

10. A cover as claimed in any of the preceding claims when individually wrapped in a sealed package.

11. A package comprising a plurality of toilet seatas claimed in any of the preceding claims in a container from which they can be dispensed one by one.

1 2. A package as claimed in claim 11 in which the covers are removable therefrom by a coinfeed mechanism.

1 3. A package of toilet seat covers as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10 comprising a stack of super-posed covers held together, by means of rivets or staples or the like between front and back flaps, the toilet seat covers being held in place by means of tabs extending from the edge of each cover.

14. A package as claimed in claim 13 in which the tabs are perforated to facilitate easy removal.

1 5. A package of toilet seat covers in which the individual covers are joined end-to endin a roll with adjacent covers on the roll interconnected by perforated regions for easy removal, with the roll mounted in a holder or dispenser to allow for covers to be pulled off the roll.

1 6. A toilet seat cover constructed and arranges and adapted for use substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 7. A package of toilet seat covers constructed and arranged and adjusted for use substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.