GB2311926A - Pet toilet - Google Patents

Abstract

A pet toilet 10 is disclosed comprising a drained base 11, a surrounding wall 13 having a pet access opening 14 therein, and a urination pole 32 which may be cleansed by a flush 23 providing water which flows up inside the pole then overflows through apertures 33 in the pole. The flush cistern has a vandal-proof housing. The toilet may include exterior grids 35 which discourage pets from performing outside the toilet, and may include a scraper (130 fig 3) for removing solid waste.

Description

SANITARY EQUIPNENT FOR USE BY ANIMALS The present invention relates to sanitary equipment for use by animals, particularly dogs, for urinating and defaecating.

It is well known that there is increased concern about the fouling of public places by dogs not only because of the general unpleasantness of the mess dogs create but also because of our increased awareness and understanding of the health risks involved. This has led to the passing of more stringent laws in many countries regarding the places in which the public are allowed to let their pets urinate and defaecate and to greater fines for those who disregard these laws.

The restriction on acceptable places for dogs to excrete does, however, create problems for their owners and the object of the present invention is to provide hygienic sanitary equipment for use by dogs which can be located in a public place so that it is conveniently available to dog owners and their pets.

Accordingly, the present invention provides sanitary equipment for use by animals, comprising a base member for location on the ground to provide a surface on which an animal can stand, at least one upright member upstanding from the base member, means for supplying flushing liquid for cleansing at least a lower part of the or each upright member and the base member and drainage means for receiving the flushing liquid and excreta carried thereby, in use. It will be appreciated that the need for such equipment is particularly for dogs in urban areas and such usage will be referred to below but the equipment should not be regarded as limited to such use as it may readily be varied to make it particularly suitable for other animals and may be required in some private locations.

It is well known that dogs prefer to urinate while cocking a hind leg against a stationary, upright object and it is for this reason that the equipment of the invention includes an upright member. This is preferably in the form of a post but may comprise a wall of the equipment. Most preferably the equipment includes both a post, located in a central region of the base, and a peripheral wall which may be used for urinating but also shields the general public from a view of a dog excreting in the equipment.

In order for the equipment to be kept clean and hygienic, it includes means for flushing those surfaces which may be soiled in use, that is, the base member and at least the lower part of any upright member provided. Water would generally be used and the equipment preferably includes at least one water cistern of the general type used in human lavatories for supplying a strong but intermittent flushing flow which may be controlled automatically, for example at regular intervals, but is much more preferably operable manually. The or each cistern preferably has a water inlet connectable to a water supply which would usually be the mains supply, manually operable valving for regulating the flushing flow through an outlet and automatically-operating inlet valving. Such cisterns are generally well known and do not require description here. In view of the exposed, external location of the equipment, however, the cistern is preferably of a vandal-proof type or is enclosed in a vandal-proof housing. Conveniently it may be housed in a housing fixed to or formed within a peripheral wall of the equipment, its manual operating member being accessible from outside the equipment.

The equipment also requires means for delivering the flushing water to the surfaces to be cleansed. The delivery means preferably include ducting connecting the or each cistern outlet to a delivery outlet or outlets arranged to direct the flushing water on to an appropriate part of the equipment's surface. In the case of a post, one or several outlets preferably direct water onto an upper part of the post so that the water flows down the post to cleanse it. Although the water could be delivered as a jet or plurality of jets onto the post it is preferable to use a hollow post and to duct the water up inside the post to several peripheral outlets near the top so that the water wells out and flows down the post.

Similarly, water could be delivered in jets onto a peripheral wall but more preferably it is ducted along the wall at a high level and fed through an aperture or apertures in, or close to, the wall surface so as to reduce any tendency to form spray. Conveniently the water is supplied through a longitudinal slit in a duct extending along the wall, either inside or outside it.

Preferably the ducting is enclosed within the wall so as to be vandal-proof.

Water supplied to a post and/or peripheral wall will flow down onto the base and may be sufficient to cleanse this as well although a separate duct may supply additional water to the base possibly from an independent cistern.

In its position of use the base preferably slopes slightly towards a drainage outlet: the base may have a slight conical taper to a central outlet or may slope towards one or more edges where a gulley may be provided to direct the flushing water to an outlet at any convenient point in the gulley.

In use in an urban environment, the drainage outlet will usually be connected to the main sewerage system through a pipe including a trap of the usual type for lavatory systems but it could be connected to a septic tank or other storage or dispersal means, as convenient for its location. One or more grit traps may also be provided at appropriate locations to prevent grit, leaves or other solid material from entering the sewerage system.

A peripheral wall of the equipment may substantially completely surround the base, a doorway possibly with a door being provided for access but more preferably a peripheral wall partly surrounds the base leaving an open side for access. The peripheral wall is preferably of such a height that a dog owner can remain outside the wall while encouraging a dog on a lead to enter the equipment and excrete. The or each cistern-operating member should also be available to the owner standing outside the equipment.

In order to dissuade animals from urinating against the outside of the equipment, it is preferably adapted to discourage this. A convenient way is to cover the ground around the equipment with an openwork mesh or grid which is strong enough to carry the weight of a human being but which animals find off-putting. Such a grid may be provided as part of the equipment itself.

The interior of the equipment may, on the other hand, be treated to encourage the desired usage by animals. It may, for example, include one or more containers for a suitable odiferous material located at appropriate sites in the equipment. Such material may be replaced at intervals: suitable odiferous material may alternatively be applied directly to parts of the equipment not cleansed by the flushing liquid and, in this case, preferably also protected from rain.

The equipment of the invention is preferably made from a strong, vandal-resistant material which has a relatively smooth, non-absorbent surface which is readily cleansed by a water flow. Stainless steel is one preferred option but fibre-glass-reinforced resin may also be suitable and less expensive.

The base is preferably treated to give it a non-slip surface even when wet. In the case of a metal base, this may be sand-blasted whereas a resin base may be moulded with suitable asperities.

The equipment may further include one or more tools usable to scrape or brush soiled surfaces of the equipment. Such a tool is preferably secured to a fixed part of the equipment by a long flexible member such as a chain so that the user can reach any part of the equipment with the tool but is unable to remove the tool from the equipment. The tool is preferably lightweight and does not have sharp edges, being made for example from plastics rather than metal, so that it does not lend itself to use as a weapon.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool is provided with a fixed location or seat and may be arranged to be washed by the flushing flow and/or with the tool head immersed in flushing liquid between uses.

Sanitary equipment according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the equipment; Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on a line corresponding to the line II-II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view taken on a line equivalent to line III-III of Figure 1 showing a variant of the equipment on an enlarged scale; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a detail of a weir trap forming part of a variant of the equipment of Figures 1 and 2.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a sanitary installation is generally indicated 10. The installation 10 is intended for location in a public area for use as a lavatory by dogs.

The installation 10 includes a base panel 11 made from a 3m x 1.5m stainless-steel sheet having a thickness of 3mm. Two corner portions of the sheet are cut away leaving the major portion 11 which is generally D-shape in plan, being mirror-imaged about the transverse centre line, indicated X-X, of the sheet.

The base panel 11 is laid on the ground, indicated 12, which is excavated and levelled as necessary so that the base sheet 11 is slightly below the level of the surrounding ground and slightly inclined to the horizontal, the surface sloping downwardly from the generally rounded edge 13 of the D-shape towards the straight edge 14. A narrow, shallow gulley 15 is cut in the ground alongside the straight edge 14 and is lined with steel sheet which is welded to the base-panel edge 14 and covers the two sides of the gulley, its ends and its base. As the base panel 11 is set slightly below ground level a wall 16, approximately 40mm, high is formed along the opposite side of the gulley 15 from the base sheet edge 14. An aperture 17 is provided in the bottom of the gulley 15, substantially at its centre, and communicates with a pipe 19 connected through a trap 18 to the main sewer system, not shown.

A weir trap indicated schematically at 40 in Figure 1, and shown in greater detail in the variant of Figure 4 described below is also provided at each end of the gulley to prevent grit or other solid matter from entering the gulley and hence the sewer.

The sanitary installation 10 further includes a double-skinned peripheral wall 9, 850mm high, having an outer skin 20 and an inner skin 21, the outer skin 20 being bent substantially into a semi-circle and extending, in plan, substantially parallel to the curved edge 13 of the base panel 11 but being spaced approximately 300mm from this edge.

The inner skin 21 is spaced from the outer skin but the two skins are interconnected at their ends by reinforcing, box-shaped uprights 22, 40mm x 80mm in cross-section, which are welded to the two skins 20, 21 and to the base panel 11 to help support them in their upright positions. The space between the skins 20, 21 widens from their ends to the central region which is sufficiently wide to accommodate two lavatory cisterns 23, 24 located adjacent each other, one on either side of the transverse centre line X-X of the base 11.

The skins 20, 21 are each cut from 3mm thick sheet steel, similar to that of the base panel 11. The space between the skins 20, 21 is covered by similar steel sheeting 25 which is welded to the skins 20, 21 except over the cisterns 23, 24. The spaces occupied by the latter are covered by removable steel panels 26.

The cisterns 23, 24 each have water inlets (not shown) for connection via suitable pipelines (not shown) to a water supply which will normally be the mains supply.

The cisterns 23, 24 are of known type and will not be described in detail but are manually operable, for example, by respective push buttons indicated 27 which project through suitable apertures in the cover plates 25.

The outlet from a first of the cisterns 23 is connected to a first flush pipe 28 which is fixed to the inner skin 21 so as to extend right along its inner face 29, facing the gulley 15, at a height approximately 600mm above the base plate 11. The flush pipe 28 is closed at its ends but has a continuous slit (not visible) in its under surface arranged so that water from the first cistern 23 will be directed from the pipe 28 onto the inner face 29 of the inner skin 21 and will flow down it along its entire length to cleanse it, in use. This cleansing water will then naturally flow down across the base panel 11, in the direction of the arrows F, to the gulley 15, also cleansing the base plate 11 itself, and will then flow along the gulley 15 to the aperture 17 and to the sewer. The use of a slit in the flushing pipe 28 not only ensures that the entire area of the surface 29 below the pipe 28 is washed but also avoids the pipe being damaged in freezing weather as the pipe can readily expand as ice forms in it without fracturing.

The outlet from the second cistern 24 is connected to a second flush pipe 30 which extends downwardly from the cistern 24 into the ground beneath the base panel 11 and then generally horizontally to open into the pipe 19 connected to the gulley aperture 17 at a level above the trap 18. The flush pipe 30 in fact carries the main water supply for flushing waste through the trap 18 into the sewerage system.

It should also be noted that the trap 18 needs to be at a low level because the vertical portion of the pipe 19 extending from the gulley needs to be of sufficient capacity to take the flushes from both cisterns 23 and 24 in case a second flush is pressed too quickly before the first flush has gone completely through the trap which could cause back flooding, including solids which might remain behind on the floor panel.

A branch pipe 31 from the first flush pipe 28 extends to an upright, hollow urinating post 32 fixed to the base panel 11 substantially on its transverse centre line X-X, close to the gulley aperture 17. The post 32 is approximately 100mm in diameter and 400mm high and may carry a container of odiferous material of a type which will encourage dogs to urinate against the post.

The branch pipe 31 may open directly into the post 32 but more preferably, as shown, extends up it and opens to peripheral apertures 33 in the post close to its upper end 34 but below any container (not shown) for odiferous material. The branch pipe 31 can thus supply flushing water from the first cistern 23 to the post apertures 33, the water then flowing down the outside of the post 32 to cleanse it in use. The pipe 31 could alternatively be connected to receive water from the second cistern 24 or from a separate cistern.

A final feature of the installation 10 is a semi-annular grid 35 located on that part of the base panel 11 around the outside of the peripheral wall 20, 21. Further grid portions 36 also extend from each end of the semi-annular grid 35 for short distances alongside the gulley 15, on the opposite side thereof from the base panel 11. The grids 35, 36 can withstand being trodden on by human beings but are off-putting to animals.

In use, the installation 10 is installed in a public area where animals, particularly dogs, are likely to be walked by their owners but which it is wished to keep free of dog excreta. Dog owners will then have available to them a public lavatory to which they can take their dogs, whether on or off a lead. The dog may urinate or defaecate against the post 32, against the inner surface 29 of the peripheral wall and on the base panel 11 and, once the dog has left the installation, the owner may press the button of the first cistern 23 to flush water down the post 32 and down the wall surface 29 and across the base panel 11 to cleanse it, the foul water then draining to the gulley 15 and to the sewer, possibly assisted by flushing from the second cistern 24.

It will be appreciated that dogs, whether with or without their owners, will be dissuaded from performing against the outside of the peripheral wall 20, 21 by the grids 35, 36 but will be encouraged to perform inside by the application of a suitably odiferous material to the top of the post 32, or the provision of such a material in a capsule or other container attached to the post. The peripheral wall 20, 21 will screen the dog from public view while also providing a secure vandal-resistant housing for the cisterns 23, 24.

The installation described above may be made relatively cheaply despite the expense of the stainless steel materials suggested since the constructional steps required, of blanking, bending and welding sheet material, are simple. Alternative materials may, however, be suitable and the invention should not be considered as limited to steel or, indeed, to the dimensions given above nor the general D-shaping of the installation.

The floor panel pre-assembly would preferably be sand-blasted in order to provide a non-slip surface.

Also the outer surface of the outer wall panel may be sand-blasted but, during the process of blasting, masking materials may be used so that areas depicting shapes of dogs and perhaps a tree or two would remain unblasted; this would be ornamental and depict the use of the unit.

With reference to Figure 3 of the drawings, a variant of the equipment of Figures 1 and 2 is shown in which similar features are indicated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

The equipment of Figure 3 differs from that described above in that the major components are moulded from fibre-glass reinforced resin rather than made from steel sheet. The base panel 11 is made non-slip by means of score lines (not shown) or other asperities formed in the moulding. The peripheral wall 9 in this case is preferably of uniform thickness throughout its length although it may be widened at the centre to accommodate the cisterns, if necessary.

The flush pipe 28 of Figure 1 is replaced by a moulded, open-topped trough 128 within the peripheral wall 9 which receives flushing liquid directly from the cistern 23 and opens into the pipe 31 for flushing the urinating post.

The trough 128 extends horizontally around the peripheral wall 9 and delivers flushing liquid to the face 29 of this wall through a slot 129. The trough 128 is 80 mm deep while the slot 129 slopes upwardly in both directions from the centre of the wall 9, each end being approximately 30 mm above the centre.

Figure 3 shows a further feature of the invention comprising a scraper tool 130 for cleaning the surfaces of the equipment. The tool 130 comprises a scraper blade 131 carried at one end of an elongate handle 132.

A rectangular recess 133 is formed in the floor panel 11 adjacent the peripheral wall 9 to provide a seat for the head 131. The recess 133 will normally be filled with flushing water which is changed automatically each time the cistern 23 is operated. A water catcher (not shown) half way down the handle will take water from the wall 9 to clean the lower half of the handle 132. The scraper handle 132 is attached to a plastic coated flexible (Bowden) cable (not shown) which runs through the wall 9 and over a pulley (not shown) housed within it. The cable has a weight attached to hold the scraper lightly in its stored position, close up against the wall of the unit at the rear centre. The length of cable is preferably such as to restrict the handle from reaching any kind of fouling.

With reference to Figure 4 of the drawings, this also shows part of a variant of the equipment of Figures 1 and 2 which is made of fibre-glass reinforced resin and in which similar components are indicated by the same reference numerals.

Figure 4 specifically shows one end of the peripheral wall 9, the surrounding grid 35, 36 (shown schematically), the gulley 15 and the weir trap 40. In this case the gulley 15 is semi-circular in section with a recessed, longitudinal base portion 41. The upper, outer longitudinal edge 42 of the gulley 15 is flush with the base 11 and bounded by a dependent flange or wall 43 which is continuous around the entirety of the installation which is moulded as a free-standing entity.

In this embodiment the grid portions 36 (only one of which is shown) extend alongside the gulley 15 and terminate in line with the respective end portions of the inner face of the peripheral wall 9; respective weir members 44 (only one shown) also extend across the gulley 15 in line with these respective end portions, separating the major portion of the gulley itself from its end portions 15a. The upper edge 45 of each weir member 44 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the base 11 but incorporates a semi-circular recess 46 to allow water to overflow from the respective end portion 15a into the main gulley 15.

In use, any grit or dirt from the grids 35, 36 which enters the end portions 15a of the gulley 13 is trapped therein by the weir members 44 while flushing water overflows through the recesses 46 to drain to the outlet 17. The grids 35, 36 may be cleaned, for example hosed with water at intervals and any accumulation of dirt/grit in the end portions 15a may be scraped out as and when necessary.

Claims (14)

1. Sanitary equipment for use by animals, comprising a base member for location on the ground to provide a surface on which an animal can stand, at least one upright member upstanding from the base member, means for supplying flushing liquid for cleansing at least the lower part of the or each upright member and the base member and drainage means for receiving the flushing liquid and excrement carried thereby in use.

2. Sanitary equipment as claimed in Claim 1, including a said upright member comprising a post against which an animal can urinate.

3. Sanitary equipment as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, including an upright member comprising a peripheral wall at least partially surrounding and defining an area of the base on which an animal is intended to stand.

4. Sanitary equipment as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3, in which the flushing means include at least one cistern for storing flushing water adapted for connection to a water supply, duct means for supplying stored flushing water to the at least one upright and to the base to cleanse them and manually operable means for regulating the supply of flushing water from the or each cistern to the duct means.

5. Sanitary equipment as claimed in claim 4 as dependent on Claim 3, in which duct means extend longitudinally of the peripheral wall at a level substantially above the base member, an outlet or outlets from the duct means being arranged to supply flushing water to that surface of the peripheral wall defining the area on which the animal is to stand.

6. Sanitary equipment as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 as dependent on Claim 2, in which the post is hollow and has an aperture or apertures at or adjacent its upper end and the duct means and associated cistern are arranged to supply flushing water to the base of the post so that it flows up inside the post and overflows through the upper aperture or apertures to cleanse the outside of the post.

7. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 6, in which the peripheral wall partially surrounds the base member, one side of the base member being left open for access thereto.

8. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 7, in which the peripheral wall is surrounded on its side opposite the base member by means for discouraging animals from excreting against it.

9. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 8, in which the or each cistern is housed in a vandal-proof housing, only an operating member thereof being accessible from the exterior of the equipment.

10. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base member is adapted to be located, in use, so that its upper surface slopes to said drainage means which include a trap and piping suitable for connection to a mains sewerage system.

11. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the interior of the equipment is treated so as to encourage animals to excrete within it.

12. Sanitary equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further including a manually-operable scraper tool attached to the equipment by an elongate flexible member and usable to scrape soiled surfaces of the equipment after use by an animal.

13. Sanitary equipment as claimed in Claim 12, in which the base member includes a recess which can house the scraper head of the scraper tool when not in use and which receives flushing liquid automatically each time the equipment is cleansed such that the scraper head is submerged in flushing liquid when located in the recess, this liquid being renewed with each cleansing operation.

14. Sanitary equipment for use by animals substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.